Izzy Groves
Jamaican footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Israela Alicia "Izzy" Groves (born 7 June 1999) is a professional footballer who currently plays for Vietnamese club Hồ Chí Minh City. Born in Canada, she represents Jamaica at international level.
|
Groves in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Israela Alicia Groves | ||
| Date of birth | 7 June 1999 | ||
| Place of birth | Pickering, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Hồ Chí Minh City | ||
| Number | 70 | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2019 | Roberts Wesleyan University | 65 | (15) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020–2022 | Vilaverdense | 23 | (3) |
| 2022–2023 | US Saint-Malo | 23 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | London City Lionesses | 9 | (0) |
| 2025 | Athlone Town | 15 | (0) |
| 2026– | Hồ Chí Minh City | 0 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2023– | Jamaica | 2 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
Groves grew up in Pickering, Ontario, Canada, a suburb of Toronto, as the daughter of Harbour View F.C. club-legend and Jamaican international Hubert 'Junior' Groves.[1][2] From 2016 to 2019 she played for the Roberts Wesleyan University Redhawks, graduating in 2020 with a degree in biology. She served as team captain in 2019, earned all-conference honors and helped the team reach the NCCAA D-1 Final 4.[3][4]
In 2020, she signed with Vilaverdense in the Portuguese Second Division. In her first season, during which she led the team in scoring, Vilaverdense went undefeated and earned promotion to the First Division. The team then finished 8th in 2021-22.[5][6]
For the 2022–23 season, Groves played for US Saint-Malo in the French second division.[7] She appeared in 23 matches for the club.[8]
On 2 September 2023, Groves signed with the London City Lionesses on a free transfer for the 2023–24 season.[9][10][11]
In March 2026, Groves signed a short term deal with Vietnamese club Hồ Chí Minh City to compete in the AFC Women's Champions League knockout stage.[12]
International career
Groves trained with the Jamaican national team in Florida in early 2023.[13][14] She received several call-ups to the squad during the year, but was prevented on the first two occasions by delays in obtaining a Jamaican passport, and on the third occasion in October 2023 by injury.[1][15][16] She finally was able to join the team in November 2023 for the W Gold Cup qualifiers, debuting against Panama on November 30, starting both games and assisting Jamaica's equalizer against Guatemala on 3 December 2023.[17][18]
