Shortly before the start of training for the coming season, the women's team of 1. FC Union Berlin welcome another newcomer to their ranks. Attacker Sarah Abu Sabbah has signed from Bundesliga side SV Meppen.

Abu Sabbah first played for FCR 2001 Duisburg and SGS Essen before stepping up to the women's side at Bayer 04 Leverkusen in 2016, where the striker made her Bundesliga debut at the age of 16. In the two years that followed, Abu Sabbah played mainly for the Bundesliga club's U23 team in the Regionalliga West, scoring 22 goals in 22 games in the 2017/18 season. At the same time, she made her debut for the Jordanian national team for whom the 23-year-old has made 14 international appearances.

Her performances at Leverkusen II started attracting attention and in 2018 she moved to Borussia Mönchengladbach, recently promoted to the Bundesliga. Although Gladbach went straight back down to the 2. Liga at the end of the 2018/19 season, Abu Sabbah had made a further 15 Bundesliga appearances, and she would confirm her talent in the following seasons at the club, scoring a further 19 goals in 30 second division appearances for Gladbach.

Nevertheless, the club was relegated again, this time to the Regionalliga West in 2021 where Abu Sabbah shone once again in front of goal, scoring 27 goals in 20 appearances. She finished the season as the second top scorer in the league.

Consequently, she returned to the Bundesliga in the summer of 2022, this time with SV Meppen. In Emsland - where she played alongside Athanasia Moraitou, who also joined Union during this close season - Abu Sabbah played in nine Bundesliga matches.

The views on the transfer

"Union are a great club that have developed very well, especially in women's football,” said a happy Abu Sabbah on her move to Köpenick. “The team, their performances, as well as the internal structures of the club really excited me and convinced me to take the big step of changing clubs. I am very much looking forward to the upcoming challenges and to playing in the forthcoming season with full motivation."

"With "Abu", we have been able to sign a young player who has already played in the Bundesliga and has shown her goal-scoring ability at various levels,” said Union’s director of women’s and girls’ football, Jennifer Zietz. “I am looking forward to working with the new players, knowing that everyone in the team will have the chance to develop further."