Nkiru Doris "NK" Okosieme (born 1 March 1972) is a former captain of the

Nigeria women's national football team The Nigeria women's national football team, nicknamed the Super Falcons, represents Nigeria in international women's association football, women's football and is controlled by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). The team is Africa's most s ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. She played across four FIFA Women's World Cups (1991, 1995, 1999 and 2003), several African Women Cup of Nations and

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

. Okosieme was

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

d "The Headmistress" for her habit of scoring important goals with her head.

Career

Okosieme captained

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

at the inaugural

1991 FIFA Women's World Cup The 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup was the first FIFA Women's World Cup, the world championship for women's national football teams. It took place in Guangdong, China from 16 to 30 November 1991. FIFA, football's international governing body sele ...

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. At the

1999 FIFA Women's World Cup The 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup was the third edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the world championship for List of women's national association football teams, women's national association football, soccer teams. It was hosted as well as ...

, Okosieme was playing for

Rivers Angels Rivers Angels F.C. (formerly Larry Angels F.C.) is a Nigerian professional football club based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State in Nigeria. They play in the Nigeria Women Premier League, the top flight in the national female soccer league pyramid ...

. Before the tournament she declared: "We no longer have an inferiority complex". She scored three goals in four games as Nigeria reached the quarter-finals, losing 4–3 to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. Okosieme enjoyed playing in America so much that she joined

USL W-League USL W-League may refer to: * USL W League * USL W-League (1995–2015) The USL W-League was a North American amateur women's soccer developmental organization. The league was a semi-professional, open league, giving college players the oppor ...

club

Charlotte Lady Eagles The Charlotte Eagles (formerly the Charlotte Lady Eagles) is an American women's soccer team that plays in the USL W League. Owned by Missionary Athletes International (MAI), it is a sister club to the namesake men's team, and the Southern ...

and enrolled at university, where she played

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

. 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.

References

External links

* * *
Profile
at

Clayton State University Clayton State University is a public university in Morrow, Georgia, United States. It serves Metro Atlanta and is part of the University System of Georgia. The main campus includes of wooded grounds and five lakes. Located in the north-central ...

1972 births Living people Nigerian women's footballers 21st-century Nigerian sportswomen Nigeria women's international footballers Place of birth missing (living people) Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Nigeria Women's association football midfielders 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup players 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup players 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup players Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States Nigerian expatriate women's footballers Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in the United States USL W-League (1995–2015) players Clayton State University alumni Rivers Angels F.C. players Charlotte Lady Eagles players Igbo sportspeople {{Nigeria-women-footy-bio-stub

Career

See also

References

External links