Alayah Pilgrim

Alayah Pilgrim (Arabic: عالية بيلكريم; born 29 April 2003) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a forward for Roma and the Switzerland women's national team.

Alayah Pilgrim
Personal information
Date of birth (2003-04-29) 29 April 2003
Place of birth Muri, Switzerland
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Roma
Number 17
Youth career
2012–2017 FC Muri
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2020 Aarau 27 (18)
2020–2022 Basel 34 (13)
2022–2024 Zürich 37 (11)
2024– Roma 0 (0)
International career‡
2018–2019 Switzerland U16 5 (1)
2019–2020 Switzerland U17 6 (7)
2021 Switzerland U19 3 (2)
2023– Switzerland 9 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:35, 31 October 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14:00, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

Club career

Pilgrim is a youth product of her local club FC Muri. She wasn't allowed to play football as a youngster, and so secretly started playing with Muri until a coach intervened and convinced her family. She played with the boys until the maximum allowable age, as the club did not have a women's section.[1] In 2017 she began her senior career with Aarau in the Ligue Nationale B at the age of 15.[2] In 2020 at the age of 17, she moved to Basel on a 2-year contract.[3]

On 10 October 2022, Pilgrim moved to Zürich, where she played in the UEFA Women's Champions League for the first time.[4] She helped Zürich win the 2022–23 Swiss Women's Super League, scoring in the final - a 3–0 win over Servette FC Chênois Féminin on 2 June 2023.[5]

On 26 January 2024, AS Roma announced the signing of Pilgrim.[6]

International career

Pilgrim was born in Switzerland to a Moroccan father and Swiss mother.[7] She was a youth international for Switzerland, having played up to the Switzerland U19s. In August 2022, she was called up to the Morocco women's national team for the first time.[8] She declined the invitation, as she received it last minute and didn't have time to decide.[7] A couple of months later in October 2022, she was called up to the Switzerland women's national team for the first time, but did not make an appearance.[9]

Just before the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, she opted to formally represent Switzerland internationally. She debuted with them as a substitute in a UEFA Women's Nations League loss to Italy in September 2023.[10]

Honours
Zürich
Roma

Personal life

Pilgrim studied as a health professional and had an internship at the Muri Hospital in the summer of 2021.[11] Outside of football, she also works as an influencer.[11]

International goals
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.31 October 2023Letzigrund, Zürich, Switzerland Spain1–41–72023–24 UEFA Women's Nations
2.23 February 2024Marbella Football Center, Marbella, Spain Poland2–04–1Friendly
3. 9 April 2024 Dalga Arena, Baku, Azerbaijan  Azerbaijan0–3 0–4 UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying

References
  1. "Pour pouvoir jouer au foot, Alayah Pilgrim devait s'entraîner en cachette". watson.ch/fr.
  2. Mori, Leandro De (28 October 2018). "Fussball Frauen - Vier Tore innert 16 Minuten: Die 15-jährige Alayah Pilgrim schiesst Aarau gegen Therwil ins Glück". Aargauer Zeitung.
  3. "Baselundregion.ch traf die aufgestellte FC Basel Fussballerin Alayah Pilgrim und stellte ihr acht Fragen". CONTENT HUB | baselundregion.ch. 10 December 2021.
  4. "Pilgrim wechselt zum Meister". www.derfreiaemter.ch.
  5. "Women's Super League: Servette Chênois s'incline à nouveau en finale contre Zurich". RTSSport.ch. 2 June 2023.
  6. "Alayah Pilgrim Joins Roma!". asroma.com. 26 January 2024.
  7. Bahechar, Hakim (7 July 2023). "Entretien avec la footballeuse professionnelle Alayah Pilgrim "C'est un privilège d'être courtisée par le Maroc"".
  8. "تجمع إعدادي للمنتخب الوطني لكرة القدم النسوية – FRMF". 1 January 1970.
  9. "26 joueuses dans la dernière sélection de Nils Nielsen". Association Suisse de Football (in French). Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  10. "Équipe nationale féminine : défaite contre l'Italie pour le début de la Ligue des Nations". Association Suisse de Football (in French). Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  11. "Porträt einer Fussballerin, die du kennen musst". watson.ch.
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