Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Nkiru Doris Okosieme | ||
Date of birth | 1 March 1972 | ||
Place of birth | Nigeria | ||
Height | 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in) | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
College career | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2000 | King Tornado | ||
2001–2004 | Clayton State Lakers | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
S.C. Imo State | |||
Rivers Angels | |||
2000–2005 | Charlotte Lady Eagles | ||
International career | |||
1991–2003 | Nigeria | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Nkiru Doris "NK" Okosieme (born 1 March 1972) is a former captain of the Nigeria women's national football team who played as a midfielder.
She played across four FIFA Women's World Cups (1991, 1995, 1999 and 2003), several African Women Cup of Nations and 2000 Summer Olympics. [1] Okosieme was nicknamed "The Headmistress" for her habit of scoring important goals with her head. [2]
Okosieme captained Nigeria at the inaugural 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup while still a teenager. She played the full 80 minutes in all three of Nigeria's defeats, while attached to the S.C. Imo State club. [3]
At the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, Okosieme was playing for Rivers Angels. [4] Before the tournament she declared: "We no longer have an inferiority complex". [5] She scored three goals in four games as Nigeria reached the quarter-finals, losing 4–3 to Brazil. Okosieme enjoyed playing in America so much that she joined USL W-League club Charlotte Lady Eagles and enrolled at university, where she played college soccer. [6] The W-league is the highest level for women's soccer in U.S. today. In 2001, "NK" was the second highest goal scorer in NCAA Div II. She has won the Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year, and in the All-Regional team for four years. She was also a NSCAA All-American.
Okosieme has won the Africa Women Cup of Nations with the "Super Falcons" on three occasions in 1998, 2000, 2002 .
Her brother Ndubuisi Okosieme was also an international footballer. [7]
Mariel Margaret "Mia" Hamm is an American former professional soccer player, two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion. Hailed as a soccer icon, she played as a forward for the United States national team from 1987 to 2004. Hamm was the face of the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA), the first professional women's soccer league in the United States, where she played for the Washington Freedom from 2001 to 2003. She played college soccer for the North Carolina Tar Heels and helped the team win four NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship titles.
The 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup was the third edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the world championship for women's national soccer teams. It was hosted as well as won by the United States and took place from June 19 to July 10, 1999, at eight venues across the country. The tournament was the most successful FIFA Women's World Cup in terms of attendance, television ratings, and public interest.
Kristine Marie Lilly Heavey is an American former professional soccer player. She was a member of the United States women's national team for 23 years and is the most-capped football player in the history of the sport, gaining her 354th and final cap against Mexico in a World Cup qualifier in November 2010. Lilly scored 130 international goals for the US national team, making her the team's fourth-highest goal scorer behind Carli Lloyd's 134, Mia Hamm's 158 goals, and Abby Wambach's 184.
Sun Wen is a Chinese former professional footballer who played as a forward. She previously captained the China national team and the Atlanta Beat of the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA).
Michelle Anne Akers is an American former soccer player who starred in the 1991 and 1999 Women's World Cup and 1996 Olympics victories by the United States. At the 1991 World Cup, she won the Golden Shoe as the top scorer, with ten goals.
Birgit Prinz is a German former footballer, two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion and three-time FIFA World Player of the Year. In addition to the German national team, Prinz played for 1. FFC Frankfurt in the Frauen-Bundesliga as well as the Carolina Courage in the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA), the first professional women's league in the United States. Prinz remains one of the game's most prolific strikers and is the second FIFA Women's World Cup all-time leading scorer with 14 goals. In 2011, she announced the end of her active career. She currently works as a sport psychologist for the men's and women's teams of Bundesliga club TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
The Nigeria national football team represents Nigeria in Men's international football. Governed by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), they are three-time Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) winners, with their most recent title in 2013. In February 2024, the Nigerian national football team was ranked 28th in the FIFA rankings. The team has qualified for six of the last eight FIFA World Cups, missing only the 2006 and 2022 editions. They have reached the round of 16 on three occasions. Their first World Cup appearance was in the 1994 edition. The team is a member of FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Malin Sofi Moström is a Swedish former football midfielder, from 2001 to 2006 she was the captain of the Sweden women's national football team. Nicknamed "Mosan", she retired in December 2006 in order to focus on her family and new career as a property agent.
The Nigeria women's national football team, nicknamed the Super Falcons, represents Nigeria in international women's football and is controlled by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). The team is Africa's most successful international women's football team, having won a record eleven Women's Africa Cup of Nations titles; their most recent title in 2018, after defeating South Africa in the final. The team is also the only women's national team from the Confederation of African Football to have reached the quarterfinals in both the FIFA Women's World Cup and the Summer Olympics.
Mercy Joy Akide Udoh is a Nigerian former footballer who played as a midfielder for the Nigeria women's national football team.
The South Africa women's national football team, nicknamed Banyana Banyana, is the national team of South Africa and is controlled by the South African Football Association.
Perpetua Ijeoma Nkwocha is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played for and captained the Nigeria women's national football team. She is the coach of Clemensnäs IF from Swedish Women's Football Division 2. She previously played for Swedish club Sunnanå SK.
Portia Modise is a South African footballer who was named Player of the Championship at the 2006 Women's African Football Championship. She represented the South Africa national team at the 2012 London Olympics. She became the first African player to score 100 international goals.
Uche Eucharia Ngozi is a former Nigerian football player and a former head coach of the Nigeria women's national football team. She has served as both the first female assistant coach and also the first female head coach of Nigeria's national women's team. She is currently a FIFA and Confederation of African Football instructor. Uche grew up in Owerri, Nigeria.
Onome Ebi is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Nigerian club Abia Angels and the Nigeria women's national team. In 2023 she became the first African footballer, male or female, to play in 6 FIFA World Cup tournaments.
Ndubuisi Okosieme is a former Nigerian international football player. He was a skilful right–winger who played professional club football in Nigeria and Belgium, as well as representing the Nigeria national under-20 football team and the senior Nigeria national football team in tournament football at international level. He was known by the nickname "Garrincha" during his football career.
Osinachi Marvis Ohale is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a centre back or right back for Liga MX Femenil club Pachuca and the Nigeria women's national team.
Ngozi Sonia Okobi-Okeoghene is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club Levante Las Planas and the Nigeria women's national team.
Florence Omagbemi is a Nigerian former football midfielder. She was part of the Nigeria women's national football team across four FIFA Women's World Cups, several Africa Women Cup of Nations and at the 2000 Summer Olympics. In 2016, she was named interim coach of the Nigeria women's national side, having previously served as an assistant coach to the Nigeria women's national under-20 football team.
Olaitan Yusuf is a Nigerian international footballer who plays as a forward for the Nigeria women's national football team. She was part of the team at the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup and has been a two-time Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year.