Gift Monday

Last updated

Gift Monday
Spirit at Portland (Jun 2025) 16 (Monday).jpg
Monday with the Washington Spirit in 2025
Personal information
Full name Gift Nyakno Monday [1]
Date of birth (2001-12-09) 9 December 2001 (age 23)
Place of birth Akwa Ibom, Nigeria
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) [2]
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Washington Spirit
Number 21
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2016–2018 COD United Amazons 25 (18)
2018–2021 FC Robo (13)
2021–2022 Bayelsa Queens
2022–2025 UD Tenerife 66 (19)
2025– Washington Spirit 10 (4)
International career‡
2018–2020 Nigeria U20 3 (0)
2019– Nigeria 10 (2)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 22 June 2025
‡ National team caps and goals as of 18 December 2022

Gift Nyakno Monday (born 9 December 2001) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for the Washington Spirit of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the Nigeria national team.

Contents

Club career

In January 2021, Monday was named the league's Player of the Month for the second consecutive month. [3] [4] In March 2021, Monday scored a brace to lift FC Robo to a 2–1 win over the undefeated Rivers Angels. [5] Monday inspired Bayelsa Queens to winning the 2021–22 league title and also finished as the season's top scorer. [6]

In September 2022, Monday joined Spanish Liga F club UD Granadilla Tenerife. [7]

On 25 March 2025, NWSL club Washington Spirit acquired Monday from Tenerife in exchange for an undisclosed fee and signed her to a three-year contract with an additional team option for 2028. [8] She made her club debut on 12 April 2025, coming on as a substitute for Gabrielle Carle in a 2–0 victory over Racing Louisville FC. [9] One week later, Monday recorded her first NWSL start and goal, scoring after stealing the ball from goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse at the goal line in a 1–0 victory over league leaders Orlando Pride. [10]

International career

Monday competed at the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in France. In 2019, she captained the national team to its first gold medal in 12 years at the African Games after defeating Cameroon 3–1 on penalties. [11] [12] In February 2021, Monday was named to the senior national team squad ahead of the 2021 Turkish Women's Cup. She was part of the team that won the championship and was the first African team to do so. [13] She scored the eighth goal in the team's 9–0 win over Equatorial Guinea. [14]

On 16 June 2023, she was included in the 23-player Nigerian squad for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023. [15]

Monday was called up to the Nigeria squad for the 2024 Summer Olympics as an unrolled alternate player. [16]

Honors

Individual
International

References

  1. ↑ "2025/26 Concacaf W Champions Cup Club Roster" (PDF). CONCACAF. 7 August 2025. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 August 2025. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  2. ↑ "Profile of Gift Monday". soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Gift Monday Receives Nigeria Women League Player Of The Month Award". Afrinews247. 7 January 2021. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  4. 1 2 "NWFL Premiership Player and Manager for December Revealed". NWFL. 4 January 2021. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  5. ↑ "Monday Gift inspired FC Robo ends Rivers Angels unbeaten run". Kick442.com. 18 March 2021. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  6. ↑ "Gift Monday gifts Bayelsa Queens NWFL Premiership Super Six title". The Punch . 22 May 2022.
  7. ↑ Tope, Adefala (5 September 2022). "Gift Monday joins Tenerife from Robo Queens". SportsRation.
  8. ↑ Spirit, Washington (25 March 2025). "Washington Spirit Signs Star Nigerian Forward Gift Monday". Washington Spirit. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  9. ↑ Spirit, Washington (13 April 2025). "Recap: Leicy Santos and Ashley Hatch Solidify Spirit's Second Road Win". Washington Spirit. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  10. ↑ Pelit, Asli (19 April 2025). "Depleted Spirit defeats reigning NWSL champion despite Trinity Rodman's absence". The Athletic . Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  11. ↑ "Know Your NWFL Players: Gift Monday of FC Robo Queens". Kick442. 6 May 2020. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  12. ↑ Saliu, Mo (2 September 2019). "African Games champion Monday Gift dreams Falcons debut". footballlive.ng. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  13. 1 2 "Nigeria 9-0 Equatorial Guinea: Super Falcons clinch Turkish Women's Cup in style". Goal.com. 23 February 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  14. ↑ "Equatorial Guinea 0 Nigeria 9 : Barcelona's Oshoala Nets Four, Sevilla's Payne". Allnigeria.com. 23 February 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  15. ↑ Ryan Dabbs (14 June 2023). "Nigeria Women's World Cup 2023 squad: most recent call ups". fourfourtwo.com. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  16. ↑ "Paris 2024 Olympics: Waldrum picks Ajibade, Nnadozie, Oshoala, 15 others". thenff.com. Nigeria Football Federation. 3 July 2024.
  17. ↑ "Gift Monday, Mejor jugadora del mes de febrero" [Gift Monday, Best Player of the Month of February] (in Spanish). Liga F. 3 March 2025. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
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