By Ayobami Okerinde
Tremendous Falcons ahead Ifeoma Onumonu has introduced her retirement from soccer, bringing an finish to a exceptional profession that spanned greater than 20 years.
The Nigerian worldwide, who featured on the 2023 FIFA Girls’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, shared the information on her Instagram web page on Saturday, expressing gratitude for her journey on and off the pitch.
“It’s with a coronary heart filled with gratitude that I bid farewell to my taking part in profession on the pitch,” she wrote.
“I began taking part in soccer after I was eight years previous, on a group referred to as the Magic. We performed in white, black, and inexperienced jerseys on the AYSO fields close to my home. I keep in mind how huge I believed the sector was. I don’t keep in mind if I performed an precise place or if I even handed the ball.
“All I wished to do was run as quick as I might and rating. I didn’t a lot care about successful or shedding; I simply cherished taking part in. I cherished discovering what my physique might do and what I might do with the ball.”
The 31-year-old mirrored on her achievements, together with successful the Nationwide Girls’s Soccer League (NWSL) championship in america, representing Nigeria on the Olympics and the World Cup, and taking part in a component within the Tremendous Falcons’ historic tenth Girls’s Africa Cup of Nations title.
“Now, 22 years later, I really feel I’ve reached a pure conclusion to that discovery. It has been an unbelievable journey,” she famous.
“This isn’t a goodbye to soccer, however a brand new starting. I’m excited to discover alternatives off the pitch, utilizing the abilities and classes realized from my time on it.”
She additionally took time to thank those that have been a part of her journey, “Thanks to all of the employees, teammates, coaches, docs, followers, and my unbelievable family and friends in your unwavering help by way of the years. Though my time as a participant has come to an finish, my love and devotion for this sport won’t ever waver.”
Onumonu started her skilled profession within the Nationwide Girls’s Soccer League with the Boston Breakers. Over time, she performed for a number of golf equipment, together with Portland Thorns, Reign FC, Utah Royals, and NJ/NY Gotham FC, earlier than taking her profession to Europe with French facet Montpellier HSC.
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