# Besard Šabović

Besard Šabović (Macedonian: Бесард Шабовиќ, Albanian: Besard Shaboviq or Besard Ferri; born 5 January 1998) is a Swedish professional footballer who currently plays for Austin FC as a centre midfielder. He has represented both Sweden and North Macedonia at youth international level.

## Club career
### Early career

Šabović started out playing for Brommapojkarna at age five. He took part in the TV4-show called Fotbollsfabriken (The Football Factory), which plotted the best 15-years old players in the Brommapojkarna's academy.

### Djurgården

On 18 February 2015, Šabović joined with Djurgården, on a three-year under-21 contract. On 12 January 2016, Šabović was promoted to the first team and signed a four-year contract. On 24 April 2016, he made his debut in a 1–0 away defeat against Malmö after coming on as a substitute at 77th minute in place of Alexander Faltsetas.

#### Loan to Brommapojkarna

On 24 March 2017, Šabović returned to Superettan side Brommapojkarna, on a season-long loan. On 1 April 2017, he made his debut in a 0–0 away draw against Dalkurd after coming on as a substitute at 89th minute in place of Markus Gustafsson.

#### Loan to Dalkurd

On 29 March 2019, Šabović joined Superettan side Dalkurd, on a season-long loan with the opportunity to playing for Djurgården during the loan spell also. On 7 April 2019, he made his debut in a 0–4 home defeat against the former club Brommapojkarna after being named in the starting line-up.
On 1 July 2019, Šabović was called up for a game for Djurgården against Kalmar FF, where he was subbed in for the last few minutes.

### Khimki

On 22 June 2021, he signed with Russian Premier League club FC Khimki. Šabović left Khimki on 3 June 2022.

### Return to Djurgården

On 10 August 2022, Šabović signed a 2.5-year contract with Djurgårdens IF.

### Austin FC

On 21 January 2025, Šabović signed with Major League Soccer side Austin FC on a three-year deal.

## International career
### North Macedonia
#### Under-21

On 14 March 2019, Šabović was named as part of the North Macedonia U21 squad for 2019 Antalya Cup. On 22 March 2019, he made his debut with North Macedonia U21 in a match against Ukraine U21 after coming on as a substitute at 62nd minute in place of Jani Atanasov.

## Personal life

Šabović was born in Stockholm, Sweden as the son of a Montenegrin Albanian father from Plav and a Serbian Albanian mother from Medveđa. He is the great-grandson of the member of the Albanian nationalist organization League of Prizren, Jakup Ferri.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of 15 March 2025
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National Cup | National Cup | Continental | Continental | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Djurgården | 2015 | Allsvenskan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Djurgården | 2016 | Allsvenskan | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 8 | 1 |
| Djurgården | 2018 | Allsvenskan | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Djurgården | 2019 | Allsvenskan | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 3 | 0 |
| Djurgården | Total | Total | 10 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 |
| Brommapojkarna (loan) | 2017 | Superettan | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 7 | 0 |
| Dalkurd (loan) | 2019 | Superettan | 27 | 5 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 27 | 5 |
| Mjällby | 2020 | Allsvenskan | 27 | 4 | 5 | 0 | – | – | 32 | 4 |
| Kayserispor | 2020–21 | Süper Lig | 11 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 11 | 0 |
| Khimki | 2021–22 | RPL | 21 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 23 | 1 |
| Khimki | Total | Total | 93 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 10 |
| Djurgården | 2022 | Allsvenskan | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 20 | 2 |
| Djurgården | 2023 | Allsvenskan | 25 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33 | 2 |
| Djurgården | 2024 | Allsvenskan | 27 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 12 | 1 | 44 | 6 |
| Djurgården | Total | Total | 64 | 5 | 12 | 4 | 21 | 1 | 97 | 10 |
| Austin FC | 2025 | Major League Soccer | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 4 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 171 | 16 | 23 | 4 | 21 | 1 | 215 | 21 |

#### Notes

* ↑ Includes appearances in Svenska Cupen, Russian Cup
* ↑ Includes appearances in UEFA Conference League

## Honours
### Djurgården

* Allsvenskan: 2019