Chiamaka Okwuchukwu

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Chiamaka Okwuchukwu
Personal information
Full name Chiamaka Cristabel Okwuchukwu [1]
Date of birth (2005-08-07) 7 August 2005 (age 20)
Height 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 San Diego Wave
Number 8
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
Rivers Angels
2025– San Diego Wave 3 (1)
International career‡
2022–2024 Nigeria U-20 8+ (2+)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 30 July 2025
‡ National team caps and goals as of 12 September 2024

Chiamaka Cristabel Okwuchukwu (born 7 August 2005) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a forward for San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She has represented Nigeria at the youth international level.

Contents

Early life

She was born on the 7th of August, 2005, as the seventh of eight children growing up in the town of Njaba. [2]

Club career

She has played for seven-time NWFL Premiership champions Rivers Angels. [2]

San Diego Wave

On 13 January 2025, the NWSL's San Diego Wave FC announced that they had signed Okwuchukwu on a one-year contract, transferring her for an undisclosed fee from Rivers Angels. [3] She scored her first NWSL goal less than two minutes into her debut, which occurred in a 2–1 defeat to the Orlando Pride on 29 March 2025. [4] Okwuchukwu earned her first start with the Wave in the following game, a 2–0 defeat to the Kansas City Current. [5] She made one more appearance with the Wave in 2025 before a leg injury forced her to miss the remainder of the season. [6]

International career

Okwuchukwu played in all four games (two starts) for Nigeria at the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup at age 16, helping them top their group before falling to the Netherlands in the quarterfinals. [3] [7] The following cycle, appeared in all four games (three starts) at the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, recording two goals and one assist during the group stage; she scored and had a goal called offside in a 3–1 loss to Germany and assisted and scored the first two goals in a 4–0 win against Venezuela. [8] [7] When she scored against Germany, she emulated the celebration of her idol Cristiano Ronaldo. [8] [9] Nigeria finished second in their group and lost to eventual finalists Japan in the first knockout round. [7] For her performance, Okwuchukwu was one of three finalists for CAF Youth Women's Player of the Year in 2024, [10] losing to Morocco's Doha El Madani. [11]

Notes

    References

    1. ↑ "Squad List: FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Costa Rica 2022" (PDF). FIFA . Retrieved January 13, 2025.
    2. 1 2 "Chiamaka Okwuchukwu: My talent is a gift". FIFA. September 11, 2024. Retrieved January 13, 2025.
    3. 1 2 "San Diego Wave FC Signs Forward Chiamaka Okwuchukwu". San Diego Wave FC. January 13, 2025. Retrieved January 13, 2025.
    4. ↑ Grueskin, Birgen (March 29, 2025). "San Diego Wave FC Falls 2-1 to Orlando Pride at Inter&Co Stadium". San Diego Wave Fútbol Club. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
    5. ↑ Grueskin, Birgen (April 13, 2025). "San Diego Wave FC Falls 2-0 to Kansas City Current at Snapdragon Stadium". San Diego Wave Fútbol Club. Retrieved April 13, 2025.
    6. ↑ Grueskin, Birgen (July 30, 2025). "San Diego Wave FC Forward Chiamaka Okwuchukwu Placed on Season-Ending Injury List". San Diego Wave Fútbol Club. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
    7. 1 2 3 Chiamaka Okwuchukwu at Soccerway OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
    8. 1 2 "Okwuchukwu Shines Despite Falconets' Defeat to Germany in U-20 Women's W'Cup". This Day . September 6, 2024. Retrieved January 13, 2025.
    9. ↑ Oyebola, Mike (September 12, 2024). "Colombia 2024: Falconets star, Okwuchukwu wants handshake with Cristiano Ronaldo". Daily Post . Retrieved January 13, 2025.
    10. ↑ Oyebola, Mike (December 12, 2024). "CAF Awards 2024: Okwuchukwu makes final shortlist for women's young POTY". Daily Post . Retrieved January 13, 2025.
    11. ↑ Benkiran, Rabei. "CAF Awards 2024: Trois Marocaines nommées dans la catégorie "Joueuse interclubs de l'année"". L'Opinion Maroc (in French). Retrieved November 23, 2024.
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