Nicole Payne

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Nicole Payne
NC Courage vs Portland Thorns (Apr 2024) 037 (Payne).jpg
Payne with the Portland Thorns in 2024
Personal information
Full name Nicole Oyeyemisi Payne [1]
Date of birth (2001-01-18) 18 January 2001 (age 24) [1]
Place of birth Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. [2]
Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) [3]
Position Defender [2]
Youth career
Oak Mountain Eagles
Concorde Fire
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2019–2021 West Virginia Mountaineers 53 (4)
2022 USC Trojans 16 (3)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2023– Paris Saint-Germain 2 (0)
2024 → Portland Thorns (loan) 9 (0)
2024–2025 Portland Thorns 10 (0)
International career‡
2017 United States U17 1 (0)
2018 United States U19 1 (0)
2021– Nigeria 2 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 10 November 2025
‡ National team caps and goals as of 16 June 2021 [4]

Nicole Oyeyemisi Payne (born 18 January 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender. Born in the United States, she represents Nigeria at international level.

Contents

Early life

Payne was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, [3] attending Oak Mountain High School there.

College career

Payne attended West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia [3] for three years, transferring to the University of Southern California for her fourth and final year.

Club career

Payne signed with Paris Saint-Germain of France's Division 1 Féminine in July 2023. [5] Her first appearance (of four to date [6] ) for PSG came as a substitute in a 5–2 win over Dijon FCO on 12 November 2023, [7] with her first start on 20 January 2024 in an 8–1 win over FC Girondins de Bordeaux. [8]

In February 2024 she was loaned to the Portland Thorns of the National Women's Soccer League for the 2024 season. [8] Five months into her loan, Payne was acquired permanently by the Thorns. [9]

International career

Payne was called up to the United States national under-17 team in 2017. [10]

Payne made her senior debut for Nigeria on 10 June 2021 as a 90th-minute substitute in a 0–1 friendly loss to Jamaica. [11]

Payne was called up to the Nigeria squad for the 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations. [12]

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

Personal life

Born in Birmingham, Alabama, to Nigerian parents, Payne is the younger sister of fellow footballers Toni Payne and Stephen Payne. [14] She and her sister Toni have played together in the Nigeria women's national team. [11]

Honours

Paris Saint-Germain

References

  1. 1 2 Nicole Payne at Soccerway. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Nicole Payne joins Paris Saint-Germain". EN.PSG.FR. 20 July 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 "Nicole Payne – Women's Soccer". West Virginia University Athletics. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  4. ↑ "Nicole Payne". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  5. ↑ "Nicole Payne joins Paris Saint-Germain". Paris Saint-Germain. 20 July 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  6. ↑ "Nicole Payne loaned out to Portland Thorns FC". Paris Saint-Germain. 18 February 2024. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  7. ↑ "Nicole Payne Excited To Make Division One Féminine Debut With PSG". Super Falcons Show. 14 November 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  8. 1 2 Portland Thorns FC (18 February 2024). "Thorns FC acquire defender Nicole Payne on loan from Paris Saint-Germain". Portland Thorns FC. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  9. ↑ Buchanan, Ryne (2 July 2024). "Thorns permanently acquire defender Nicole Payne from Paris Saint-Germain". KPTV. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  10. ↑ "U-17 WNT to Face England Twice in Portland, Oregon - U.S. Soccer". Archived from the original on 18 October 2017.
  11. 1 2 "Match Report of Jamaica vs Nigeria – 2021-06-10 – FIFA Friendlies – Women". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  12. ↑ "Morocco 2022: Waldrum picks Ebi, Oshoala, Plumptre, 22 others for Women AFCON". Nigeria Football Federation. 25 June 2022. Archived from the original on 19 July 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2025.
  13. ↑ "Paris 2024 Olympics: Waldrum picks Ajibade, Nnadozie, Oshoala, 15 others". thenff.com. Nigeria Football Federation. 3 July 2024.
  14. ↑ McIntosh, Loyd (10 January 2017). "Stephen Payne ready to kick off career in Portugal". Upper 90. Archived from the original on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  15. ↑ "LE PSG PUISSANCE 4" (in French). 4 May 2024. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
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