Super Falcon and Leicester City Superstar, Ashleigh Plumptre has said she dropped the English team to play for Nigeria because of her Yorùbá origin.
She said she wanted to relive her rich heritage and link up with her roots.
Ashleigh Plumptre is one of the iconic starts in the Super Falcon’s set-up at the on-going 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand
She had helped her team secure victory over highly rated Australians and had earlier worked for a draw in the previous ecounter with Canada.
She was playing for the England youth teams, but opted to play for Nigeria in the international encounter.
The Leicester-born star decided to play for Nigeria at the senior level. She plays as a defender, left back and had been
incredible in the team.
Ashleigh Plumptre’s father is Yorùbá from Lagos. She had played for England’s U17, U19 and U23, but opted for Nigeria at the senior team.
The 25-year-old player contributed immensely to the defeat of Australia by the Falcons.
She said: “For me, I always say that I have to play football for more than just playing it itself. The same way that I chose to join Leicester because of my hometown’s club.
“With Nigeria, I wanted to uncover more of my heritage that I hadn’t delved into before because my dad is half-Nigerian and half-English. My grandad was born in Lagos.
“But I’ve been brought up very British, so, I want to join the Nigerian team where I got to experience food like this, experience more of the culture, I guess.”
Source: Yoruba Times
