Esther Okoronkwo

Esther Okoronkwo

Okoronkwo in 2025
Personal information
Full name	Ijeoma Esther Okoronkwo [1]
Date of birth	(1997-03-27) 27 March 1997 (age 28) [2]
Place of birth	Abia State, Nigeria
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) [3]
Position	Forward [3]
Team information
Current team	AFC Toronto
Number	23
College career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2017	Northeast Texas Eagles	?	(28)
2018–2021	Lamar Lady Cardinals	39	(35)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2021–2023	Saint-Étienne	27	(7)
2023–2024	UD Tenerife	10	(2)
2024–2025	Changchun Dazhong Zhuoyue
2025–	AFC Toronto	20	(8)
International career‡
2021–	Nigeria	24	(10)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20 October 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 24 October 2025

Ijeoma Esther Okoronkwo OON (born 27 March 1997) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Canadian Northern Super League club AFC Toronto and the Nigeria women's national team.

Early life

Okoronkwo was born in Abia State and raised in Richmond, Texas, United States. ^[3]

College career

Okoronkwo has attended the John and Randolph Foster High School. She spent two years at the Northeast Texas Community College, and then moved to Lamar University while she was recovering from a torn ACL. ^{[4] [3] [5]}

Club career

In June 2023, Okoronkwo joined Spanish Liga F club UD Tenerife. ^[6]

In February 2025, Okoronkwo signed with at Northern Super League club AFC Toronto. ^[7] On 1 May 2025, she scored both goals in a 2–1 victory over Calgary Wild FC, to help the club earn their first win in club history. ^[8] She was named the NSL assist leader upon the conclusion of the inaugural NSL regular season, having tallied 7 assists that season and was also named to the league's Team of the Season. ^{[9] [10]}

International career

Okoronkwo made her senior debut for Nigeria on 10 June 2021 as a 43rd-minute substitution in a 0–1 friendly loss to Jamaica. ^[11]

On 23 February 2022, she scored her first goal against Ivory Coast in a 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification match in Ivory Coast, after receiving a pass from Michelle Alozie. The goal gave Nigeria a 1-0 away victory over the Ivory Coast and ensured qualification for the 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations with a 3-0 aggregate scoreline.

On 16 June 2023, she was included in the 23-player Nigerian squad for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023. ^[12]

Okoronkwo was called up to the Nigeria squad for the 2024 Summer Olympics. ^[13]

At the 2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), Okoronkwo emerged as the talisman for the Super Falcons. During the quarter finals, she scored once and created two assists in the 5-0 demolition of Zambia to advance the Falcons to the semi final. ^[14] At the final match played on July 26, 2025 versus Morocco (in Rabat, Morocco), Okoronkwo repeated her antics, powering the team to a come from behind 3-2 victory where she converted a 60th minute penalty kick, set up Folashade Ijamilusi for a goal at 70th minute and threaded a perfectly weighted free-kick to Jennifer Echegini who scored at the 88th minute. ^[15]

International goals

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	23 February 2022	Stade Robert Champroux, Abidjan, Ivory Coast	Ivory Coast	1–0	1–0	2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification
2.	21 February 2023	Estadio León, León, Mexico	Costa Rica	1–0	1–0	2023 Women's Revelations Cup
3.	7 April 2023	Marden Sports Complex, Alanya, Turkey	Haiti	1–0	2–1	Friendly
4.	30 November 2023	Onikan Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria	Cape Verde	4–0	5–0	2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification
5.				5–0
6.	5 December 2023	Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde, Praia, Cape Verde	Cape Verde	1–1	2–1
7.	26 February 2024	Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, Nigeria	Cameroon	1–0	1–0	2024 CAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament
8.	18 July 2025	Larbi Zaouli Stadium, Casablanca, Morocco	Zambia	2−0	5−0	2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations
9.	26 July 2025	Olympic Stadium, Rabat, Morocco	Morocco	1−2	3−2
10.	24 October 2025	Stade de Kégué, Lomé, Togo	Benin	2–0	2–0	2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Honours

Nigeria

• Africa Women Cup of Nations: 2024
• Officer of the Order of the Niger

References

1. "USWNT vs. Nigeria score: Goals from Christen Press and Lynn Williams seal three-game Summer Series sweep". 17 June 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
2. Esther Okoronkwo at Soccerway. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
3. "Esther Okoronkwo - 2020 - Women's Soccer". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
4. "Esther Okoronkwo - 2016 - Women's Soccer". Northeast Texas Community College Athletics. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
5. Kourabi, Mariam (24 September 2025). "'I knew I was good': NSL star Esther Okoronkwo's dogged pursuit to play the game she loves". CBC Sports. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
6. "La UDG Tenerife ficha a Esther Okoronkwo" [UDG Tenerife signs Esther Okoronkwo] (in Spanish). Liga F. 1 June 2023.
7. "AFC Toronto Signs Nigerian International Esther Okoronkwo". www.afctoronto.ca.
8. "Okoronkwo's brace leads AFC Toronto past Calgary Wild for 1st NSL victory". CBC Sports . 1 May 2025.
9. "Northern Super League Concludes Inaugural Regular Season". NSL - Official site of the Northern Super League. 20 October 2025. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
10. "Ottawa Rapid forward DB Pridham completes near sweep of Northern Super League awards". Times Colonist . 31 October 2025.
11. "Match Report of Jamaica vs Nigeria - 2021-06-10 - FIFA Friendlies - Women". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
12. Ryan Dabbs (14 June 2023). "Nigeria Women's World Cup 2023 squad: most recent call ups". fourfourtwo.com. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
13. "Paris 2024 Olympics: Waldrum picks Ajibade, Nnadozie, Oshoala, 15 others". thenff.com. Nigeria Football Federation. 3 July 2024.
14. https://www.pulsesports.ng/football/story/nigeria-5-0-zambia-five-star-super-falcons-run-riot-melt-copper-girls-to-reach-wafcon-semis-2025071817562360227
15. https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/2024-womens-afcon-nigeria-stages-223000533.html

External links

• Esther Okoronkwo at Soccerway