Ilham Abali (born 19 February 2002) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Eredivisie club FC Twente.
Club career Abali made her senior-team debut with ADO Den Haag at the age of 16, and was promoted to the first team in 2020. Sidelined due to a serious knee injury in 2020, in 2022, she extended her contract with ADO through the summer of 2023. On 7 May 2023, she made her return to the pitch as a substitute in the 88th minute at home against Excelsior Rotterdam.
Abali was injured in the summer of 2024, and spent 2024-25 rehabilitating from the injury. On 16 September 2025, she signed with Twente.
International career In 2019, Abali reached the European Championship final with the Netherlands women's national under-17 football team, winning silver.
Personal life Abali was born in Vlissingen, Netherlands. She was one of more than 20 Moroccan-Dutch footballers and coaches featured in the book Marokkaanse trots: Smaakmakers in de eredivisie (2020), examining their experience in the Eredivisie, the top-flight of football in the Netherlands.
Further reading
Rijsman, Thomas; Ghouddani, Nordin (2020). Marokkaanse trots: Smaakmakers in de eredivisie. Atlas Contact.
References
External links Under-19 national team profile at Onsoranje.nl (in Dutch) Under-17 national team profile at Onsoranje.nl (in Dutch) Under-16 national team profile at Onsoranje.nl (in Dutch) Under-15 national team profile at Onsoranje.nl (in Dutch)