Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla (born 31 March 1999) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a winger for Canadian Premier League club Atlético Ottawa.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1999-03-31) 31 March 1999 (age 23) | ||
| Place of birth | Abidjan, Ivory Coast | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Atlético Ottawa | ||
| Number | 13 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| AS Pointe-aux-Trembles | |||
| 2012–2013 | Montreal Impact | ||
| 2013–2015 | Panellinios | ||
| 2015 | Montreal Impact | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016 | FC Montreal | 21 | (5) |
| 2017 | Montreal Impact | 21 | (2) |
| 2018–2020 | Barcelona B | 30 | (3) |
| 2019 | → Albacete (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2019 | → Montreal Impact (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | CF Montréal[lower-alpha 1] | 7 | (1) |
| 2022– | Atlético Ottawa | 27 | (6) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2014–2015 | Canada U17 | 5 | (1) |
| 2015 | Canada U18 | ||
| 2016–2018 | Canada U20 | 7 | (1) |
| 2021– | Canada U23 | 4 | (0) |
| 2018– | Canada | 2 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17 October 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 28 March 2021 | |||
Tabla was born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on 31 March 1999, and he moved as a child to Canada.[2] He was raised in Quebec.[3] He played youth soccer with AS Pointe-aux-Trembles, a local amateur team.[2] Tabla first joined the Montreal Impact Academy in 2012. On 9 December 2013, he left the club to join local amateur team CS Panellinios. In April 2015, he returned to the Impact as part of the team's U18 side which finished the 2014/15 U.S. Soccer Development Academy in first place in the overall standings.[4]
On 10 November 2015, it was announced that Tabla had signed for FC Montreal, the second team of the Impact which competed in the United Soccer League, the second tier of the Canadian soccer league system.[4] He made his professional debut on 9 April 2016 and scored his first professional goal as Montreal fell 1–2 to Toronto FC II.[5] While with FC Montreal, Tabla regularly trained with the first team which included fellow Ivorian Didier Drogba.[6] In February 2016, Tabla and three of his teammates had a training stint with Bologna F.C. 1909 of Serie A.[7]
In April 2016, it was revealed that Tabla was being eyed by numerous big teams in Europe including Premier League clubs Arsenal, Manchester City, and Chelsea, along with F.C Barcelona. He was first spotted by scouts during a U20 match in March 2016 in which Canada beat England by a score of 2–1. It was also revealed that several European clubs had inquired about taking the player in on a trial.[6]
On 20 October 2016, the Montreal Impact announced they had signed Tabla to a two-year contract as a Homegrown Player, which would begin in the 2017 season.[8][9]
On 8 August 2017, the Montreal Gazette reported that Tabla "missed practice Tuesday as the MLS team confirmed it has received a transfer offer for the 18-year-old from a second-division European club."[10] The next day Tabla issued an apology through Twitter.[11][12]
On 25 January 2018, Tabla signed with FC Barcelona B on an initial three-year deal, with an optional two-year extension. His buyout clause was set at €25 million for the first three years, which would rise to €75 million if his contract option is picked up.[13]
On 31 January 2019, Tabla joined Segunda División side Albacete Balompié on loan until the end of the 2018–19 season.[14]
Tabla returned to Montreal on loan through to the end of the 2019 MLS season on August 7, 2019.[15] In January 2020, Tabla signed with Montreal on a permanent transfer.[16] Tabla did not feature much in the 2021 season, but he did play a crucial role in the club's Canadian Championship run, scoring two goals in stoppage time to give Montréal a 3-1 victory in the quarterfinals over HFX Wanderers FC, allowing Montreal to advance and ultimately win the trophy.[17] After the 2021 season, CF Montreal would announce that they would not exercise the option on Tabla's contract, making him a free agent.[18]
On 15 February 2022, Tabla signed a three-year contract with Canadian Premier League side Atlético Ottawa through the 2024 season.[19] He made his debut on April 9 in Ottawa's season opener against Cavalry FC.[20] Tabla scored his first goal for his new club on April 29, netting a late equalizer in a 2-2 draw with York United at York Lions Stadium.[21]
Tabla was 14 years old when he first participated in a national camp. He has represented Canada at the U15, U17, U18, and U20 levels.[3] He was named to Canada's squad for the 2015 CONCACAF U-17 Championship.[22] In 2014, he was named the Canada U17 Male Player of the Year.[23] In 2015, he played with the Canada U18s at the Slovakia Cup.[24] In August 2016, Tabla was called up to the U-20 team for a pair of friendlies against Costa Rica[25] In 2016, he was named the Canada Soccer U20 Player of the Year for his performances with the U-20 squad in friendlies against England and Honduras.[26]
He later refused call-ups to Canada, citing a possibility to play for the Ivory Coast.[27] It was reported that he sought advice from Didier Drogba, a former Ivory Coast striker with whom he struck a friendship during their time in Montreal.[28] In September 2018, Tabla declared his international allegiance to Canada.[29]
On 17 October 2018, Tabla made his senior national team debut, in a 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League qualification match against Dominica. Tabla replaced Jonathan David in the 54th minute.[30]
Tabla was named to the Canadian U-23 provisional roster for the 2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship on February 26, 2020.[31] He was named to the final squad on March 10, 2021.[32]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| FC Montreal | 2016 | USL | 21 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 21 | 5 | |
| Montreal Impact | 2017 | MLS | 21 | 2 | 3[lower-alpha 2] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 3 |
| Barcelona B | 2017–18 | Segunda División | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 12 | 1 | |
| 2018–19 | Segunda División B | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 19 | 2 | |
| Total | 30 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 3 | ||
| Albacete (loan) | 2018–19 | Segunda División | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 0 | ||
| Montreal Impact (loan) | 2019 | MLS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 4 | 0 | |
| Montreal Impact | 2020 | MLS | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 7 | 1 | |
| CF Montréal | 2021 | MLS | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| Total | 32 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 6 | ||
| Atletico Ottawa | 2022 | Canadian Premier League | 27 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 4] | 1 | 29 | 7 |
| Total | 27 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 29 | 7 | ||
| Career total | 110 | 17 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 120 | 27 | ||
| Canada | ||
| Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 0 |
Barcelona
Atlético Ottawa
The outcome of the match was never in doubt, with three goals in the first 18 minutes making sure of that. For Canadian fans, the moment that might have counted most was Ballou Yves-Jean Tabla coming on for his first international action. The 19-year-old Montreal Impact Homegrown, now at FC Barcelona B, showed promise in his initial run-out for the red and white.
Atlético Ottawa – current squad | |
|---|---|
Canadian U-17 Players of the Year | |
|---|---|
| Men's | |
| Women's | |
Canadian Youth Players of the Year | |
|---|---|
| Men's | |
| Women | |