Esther Okoronkwo
.jpg) Okoronkwo in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ijeoma Esther Okoronkwo[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 27 March 1997[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Abia State, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[3] | ||
| Position | Forward[3] | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | AFC Toronto | ||
| Number | 23 | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2017 | Northeast Texas Eagles | 33 | (28) |
| 2018–2021 | Lamar Lady Cardinals | 39 | (35) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2021–2023 | Saint-Étienne | 27 | (7) |
| 2023–2024 | UD Tenerife | 10 | (2) |
| 2024–2025 | Changchun Dazhong Zhuoyue | ||
| 2025– | AFC Toronto | 20 | (8) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2021– | Nigeria | 24 | (10) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20 October 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 24 October 2025 | |||
Ijeoma Esther Okoronkwo ⓘ OON (born 27 March 1997) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Canadian Northern Super League club AFC Toronto and the Nigeria national team.
Early life
[edit]Okoronkwo was born in Abia State and raised in Richmond, Texas, United States.[3]
College career
[edit]Okoronkwo has attended the John and Randolph Foster High School. She spent two years at the Northeast Texas Community College, and then moved to Lamar University while she was recovering from a torn ACL.[4][3][5]
Club career
[edit]In June 2023, Okoronkwo joined Spanish Liga F club UD Tenerife.[6]
In February 2025, Okoronkwo signed with at Northern Super League club AFC Toronto.[7] On 1 May 2025, she scored both goals in a 2–1 victory over Calgary Wild FC, to help the club earn their first win in club history.[8] She was named the NSL assist leader upon the conclusion of the inaugural NSL regular season, having tallied 7 assists that season and was also named to the league's Team of the Season.[9][10] On November 10, 2025, she scored a hat trick in a 4-1 victory over Montreal Roses FC, in the second leg of the playoff semi-finals, to help her club advance to the championship final.[11] On January 15, 2026, it was announced that she had signed a contract extension to keep her with AFC Toronto through 2027.[12]
International career
[edit]Okoronkwo made her senior debut for Nigeria on 10 June 2021 as a 43rd-minute substitution in a 0–1 friendly loss to Jamaica.[13]
On 23 February 2022, she scored her first goal against Ivory Coast in a 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification match in Ivory Coast, after receiving a pass from Michelle Alozie. The goal gave Nigeria a 1-0 away victory over the Ivory Coast and ensured qualification for the 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations with a 3-0 aggregate scoreline.
On 16 June 2023, she was included in the 23-player Nigerian squad for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023.[14]
Okoronkwo was called up to the Nigeria squad for the 2024 Summer Olympics.[15]
At the 2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), Okoronkwo emerged as the talisman for the Super Falcons. During the quarter finals, she scored once and created two assists in the 5-0 demolition of Zambia to advance the Falcons to the semi final.[16] At the final match played on July 26, 2025 versus Morocco (in Rabat, Morocco), Okoronkwo repeated her antics, powering the team to a come from behind 3-2 victory where she converted a 60th minute penalty kick, set up Folashade Ijamilusi for a goal at 70th minute and threaded a perfectly weighted free-kick to Jennifer Echegini who scored at the 88th minute.[17]
International goals
[edit]| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 23 February 2022 | Stade Robert Champroux, Abidjan, Ivory Coast |  Ivory Coast |
1–0 | 1–0 | 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 2. | 21 February 2023 | Estadio León, León, Mexico |  Costa Rica |
1–0 | 1–0 | 2023 Women's Revelations Cup |
| 3. | 7 April 2023 | Marden Sports Complex, Alanya, Turkey |  Haiti |
1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 4. | 30 November 2023 | Onikan Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria |  Cape Verde |
4–0 | 5–0 | 2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 5. | 5–0 | |||||
| 6. | 5 December 2023 | Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde, Praia, Cape Verde | Cape Verde |
1–1 | 2–1 | |
| 7. | 26 February 2024 | Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, Nigeria |  Cameroon |
1–0 | 1–0 | 2024 CAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament |
| 8. | 18 July 2025 | Larbi Zaouli Stadium, Casablanca, Morocco |  Zambia |
2−0 | 5−0 | 2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations |
| 9. | 26 July 2025 | Olympic Stadium, Rabat, Morocco |  Morocco |
1−2 | 3−2 | |
| 10. | 24 October 2025 | Stade de Kégué, Lomé, Togo |  Benin |
2–0 | 2–0 | 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
Honours
[edit]Nigeria
- Africa Women Cup of Nations: 2024
- Officer of the Order of the Niger
References
[edit]- ^ "USWNT vs. Nigeria score: Goals from Christen Press and Lynn Williams seal three-game Summer Series sweep". 17 June 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ Esther Okoronkwo at Soccerway. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Esther Okoronkwo - 2020 - Women's Soccer". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ "Esther Okoronkwo - 2016 - Women's Soccer". Northeast Texas Community College Athletics. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ Kourabi, Mariam (24 September 2025). "'I knew I was good': NSL star Esther Okoronkwo's dogged pursuit to play the game she loves". CBC Sports. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
- ^ "La UDG Tenerife ficha a Esther Okoronkwo" [UDG Tenerife signs Esther Okoronkwo] (in Spanish). Liga F. 1 June 2023.
- ^ "AFC Toronto Signs Nigerian International Esther Okoronkwo". www.afctoronto.ca.
- ^ "Okoronkwo's brace leads AFC Toronto past Calgary Wild for 1st NSL victory". CBC Sports. 1 May 2025.
- ^ "Northern Super League Concludes Inaugural Regular Season". NSL - Official site of the Northern Super League. 20 October 2025. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
- ^ "Ottawa Rapid forward DB Pridham completes near sweep of Northern Super League awards". Times Colonist. 31 October 2025.
- ^ "Okoronkwo nets 1st-half hat trick as AFC Toronto thumps Montreal Roses FC en route to NSL final". CBC Sports. 10 November 2025.
- ^ "AFC Toronto Confirms Additional Roster Updates for 2026 Season". AFC Toronto. 15 January 2026. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
- ^ "Match Report of Jamaica vs Nigeria - 2021-06-10 - FIFA Friendlies - Women". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ Ryan Dabbs (14 June 2023). "Nigeria Women's World Cup 2023 squad: most recent call ups". fourfourtwo.com. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
- ^ "Paris 2024 Olympics: Waldrum picks Ajibade, Nnadozie, Oshoala, 15 others". thenff.com. Nigeria Football Federation. 3 July 2024.
- ^ https://www.pulsesports.ng/football/story/nigeria-5-0-zambia-five-star-super-falcons-run-riot-melt-copper-girls-to-reach-wafcon-semis-2025071817562360227
- ^ https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/2024-womens-afcon-nigeria-stages-223000533.html
External links
[edit]
- Esther Okoronkwo at Soccerway
Nigeria squads | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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- 1997 births
- Living people
- Footballers from Abia State
- Nigerian women's footballers
- 21st-century Nigerian sportswomen
- Women's association football forwards
- Nigeria women's international footballers
- Nigerian emigrants to the United States
- Naturalized citizens of the United States
- Sportspeople from Richmond, Texas
- Soccer players from Texas
- American women's soccer players
- College women's soccer players in Texas
- Lamar Lady Cardinals soccer players
- African-American soccer players
- American people of Nigerian descent
- Sportspeople of Nigerian descent
- 21st-century African-American sportswomen
- 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup players
- Footballers at the 2024 Summer Olympics
- Olympic footballers for Nigeria
- 21st-century American sportswomen
- AFC Toronto players
- Northern Super League players
- 2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations players