Rita Chikwelu

Rita Chikwelu
Chikwelu with Umeå IK on 24 July 2011
Personal information
Date of birth (1988-03-06) 6 March 1988
Place of birth Asaba, Nigeria
Height 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)[1]
Position(s)
Team information
Current team
 Al-Riyadh
Number 18
Youth career
Cold City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
–2005 Akwa Starlets
2006–2009 FC United (28)
2010–2016 Umeå IK 140 (16)
2017–2019 Kristianstad 64 (12)
2020–2022 Madrid CFF 64 (5)
2022–2023 Levante Las Planas 8 (0)
2023–2024 Al Shabab 8 (2)
2024– Al-Riyadh
International career‡
2007– Nigeria 33 (15)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 6 November 2022
‡ National team caps and goals as of 5 July 2011

Rita Chikwelu (born 6 March 1988) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a forward and midfielder for the Saudi Women's Premier League club Al-Riyadh and the Nigeria women's national team.[2][3] She previously played for Swedish sides Umeå IK and Kristianstads DFF[4] and later for the Spanish clubs Madrid CFF and Levante Las Planas.[5]

Club career

From 2006 to 2009, Chikwelu played in Finland for FC United. She was the top scorer of the Finnish women's league Naisten Liiga in 2009 with 22 goals.[6]

Chikwelu spent seven seasons with Umeå IK from 2010 to 2016, but left upon the club's relegation and joined Kristianstads DFF on a two-year contract.[7] She later transferred to Madrid CFF and Levante Las Planas in Spain. In August 2023, she signed for Saudi club Al Shabab.[8][9]

International career

Chikwelu participated in the FIFA U-20 World Cup from 2004 to 2008 and made her senior national team debut in 2007 at the FIFA women's World Cup.[10] She was a member of the Nigerian Olympic team which participated in the 2008 Summer Olympics in China and a member of the Nigerian squad in the 2011 FIFA women's World Cup.[11]

Honours

In 2024, she was honored with a traditional bestowment by her hometown, which donated a sum of money to her foundation, the Rita Chikwelu Football Academy.[12]

References

  1. ^ "Athlete Biography: CHIKWELU Rita". Beijing2008.cn. The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. Archived from the original on 8 September 2008.
  2. ^ Femi, Emmanuel. "I Was Fortunate To Play Alongside Nkwocha, Dede, Chikwelu – Oshoala". leadership.ng. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
  3. ^ "Rita Chikwelu Stats - Goals, Shots, Passes | RedScores". redscores.com. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
  4. ^ "Rita Chikwelu profile". Umeå IK. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  5. ^ "Rita Chikwelu Biography". ESPN. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
  6. ^ "Naisten Liiga scorers 2006–2011". Finnish Football Association. Archived from the original on 6 February 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  7. ^ Fredriksson, Emelie (26 November 2016). "Rita Chikwelu klar för Kristianstads DFF" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  8. ^ "Transfer: Super Falcons midfielder completes Al Shabab transfer". Daily Post. Lagos, Nigeria. 24 August 2023.
  9. ^ Oyebola, Mike (25 August 2023). "Saudi League: Chikwelu grabs brace at Al Shabab debut". Daily Post Nigeria. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
  10. ^ Football, Nigeria (24 August 2023). "Rita Chikwelu becomes first Nigeria woman to join Saudi Arabia from Europe - Nigeria Football". Retrieved 7 March 2026.
  11. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Rita Chikwelu". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2009.
  12. ^ Onyeka (6 June 2024). "Anambra Community Honours Super Falcon Star, Rita Chikwelu". Anambra people magazine. Retrieved 7 March 2026.

Media related to Rita Chikwelu at Wikimedia Commons


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.