Una Obiose Kriston Nwajei (born 7 March 1977) is a

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

n-born

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

. She played as a striker for

Amazon Grimstad Amazon Grimstad FK is a Professional Norwegian women's football club from Grimstad. It is named after the Amazons of Greek mythology. It was founded in 1999 when the women's football section split from FK Jerv. The senior team currently plays ...

and has represented

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

at international level.

Club career

Nwajei began playing for

Southampton Saints Southampton Saints were a speedway team which operated from 1928 until its closure in 1963. Its track was located at Banister Court Stadium in Southampton, Hampshire. History Southampton was one of the founder members of the 1929 Speedway Sout ...

in the FA Women's Premier League National Division while attending Southampton Institute. Her form won her an international call-up and a professional contract with Fulham early in the 2002–03 season. When Fulham won the treble that season then reverted to semi-pro status, Nwajei followed teammate

Margunn Haugenes Margunn Haugenes (née Humlestøl; born 25 January 1970) is a Norwegian footballer. She became Olympic champion in 2000. She has won silver medals with the Norway national team, in the World Cup and in the European Championships. Career Haugenes ...

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

club

. She remained at

thereafter, except for a season at

Team Strømmen LSK Kvinner Fotballklubb is a Norwegian women's football club from Lillestrøm. They currently play in Toppserien, the top division of Norwegian football. The club was founded as Setskog/Høland Fotballklubb on 10 October 1989. History The cl ...

(now called LSK Kvinner) in 2009. She was Strømmen's top goalscorer with 13 goals.

International career

Nwajei was called up by

in January 2002. She made her debut on 1 March 2002 in a 3–1

Algarve Cup The Algarve Cup is an invitational tournament for national teams in women's association football hosted by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, it is one of the most prestigious an ...

defeat by

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. She was allotted 142 when the FA announced their legacy numbers scheme to honour the 50th anniversary of England’s inaugural international.

Personal life

Nwajei learnt to play football during her childhood in

. She graduated with a 2:1 in Business and IT from Southampton Institute in 2002.

References

Living people 1977 births Alumni of Solent University Fulham F.C. Women players Southampton Saints L.F.C. players English women's footballers FA Women's National League players England women's international footballers Expatriate women's footballers in Norway Nigerian emigrants to the United Kingdom English expatriate sportspeople in Norway Toppserien players Women's association football forwards {{England-footy-forward-1970s-stub