Fjolla Shala (born 20 March 1993) is a footballer who last played as a defender for Icelandic club Fylkir. She has played for the Icelandic junior national teams and in 2017 debuted for the Kosovo national team.

Fjolla Shala
Personal information
Full name Fjolla Shala
Date of birth (1993-03-20) 20 March 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth Kosovo
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
Leiknir Reykjavík
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007 Leiknir Reykjavík 6 (0)
2007Fjölnir 4 (0)
2009–2011 Fylkir 39 (6)
2012–2020 Breiðablik 93 (2)
2021 Fylkir 14 (0)
International career
2008–2009 Iceland U16 8 (1)
2008–2009 Iceland U17 4 (0)
2010–2012 Iceland U19 19 (2)
2017–2020 Kosovo 13 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11 May 2021
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10 March 2020

Early life edit

Shala was born in Kosovo but moved to Germany when she was around six months old.[1] In 1998, when she was five years old, the family moved to Iceland. At the age of nine, she started playing football with Leiknir Reykjavík's junior teams.[2]

Club career edit

Shala started her senior team career with Leiknir in 2007. Later that season, she was loaned to Fjölnir where she appeared in 4 matches in the Icelandic top-tier Úrvalsdeild kvenna. In November 2008, she signed with Fylkir.[3]

In 2012, Shala signed with Breiðablik.[4] In May 2012, Shala broke her jaw in two places in a game after colliding with another player in the League Cup final. Despite the injury, she returned to the game after brief medical examination and played the last 20 minutes of the game.[5] In her first start since the injury, on 24 June, she suffered a vertebral fracture after an opposing player collided and fell on her, ending her season.[6]

She missed the 2017 season after tearing her cruciate ligaments.[7]

After missing the 2020 season due to pregnancy,[8] Shala signed with Fylkir in May 2021.[9]

National team career edit

Shala played for the Icelandic junior national teams from 2008 to 2012. In 2017, she was selected to the Kosovo national team for a friendly game against Montenegro.[2] She appeared for the team during the UEFA Women's Euro 2021 qualifying cycle.[10]

Honours edit

Club edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Elvar Geir Magnússon (23 October 2017). "Fjolla: Fótboltinn fékk mig til að feta rétta leið í lífinu". Fótbolti.net (in Icelandic). Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  2. ^ a b Magnús Már Einarsson (23 November 2017). "Fjolla Shala valin í landslið Kosóvó". Fótbolti.net (in Icelandic). Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  3. ^ Hafliði Breiðfjörð (16 November 2008). "Fjolla Shala: Held ég eigi mér framtíð í Fylki". Fótbolti.net (in Icelandic). Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  4. ^ Hafliði Breiðfjörð (21 January 2012). "Fjolla Shala í Breiðablik (Staðfest)". Fótbolti.net (in Icelandic). Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  5. ^ Elvar Geir Magnússon (9 May 2012). "Fjolla Shala tvíkjálkabrotnaði en spilaði samt áfram". Fótbolti.net (in Icelandic). Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  6. ^ Elvar Geir Magnússon (26 June 2012). "Fjolla hryggbrotnaði og spilar líklega ekki meira í sumar". Fótbolti.net (in Icelandic). Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  7. ^ Elvar Geir Magnússon (17 October 2017). "Fjolla Shala með nýjan samning við Breiðablik". Fótbolti.net (in Icelandic). Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  8. ^ Magnús Már Einarsson (4 May 2020). "Fjolla ekki með Breiðabliki í sumar - Berglind á heimleið". Fótbolti.net (in Icelandic). Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  9. ^ Runólfur Trausti Þórhallsson (11 May 2021). "Fjolla Shala til liðs við Fylki". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  10. ^ "Kosovo – Squad – UEFA Women's Euro". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 31 August 2019.

External links edit