A few days ago, it was reported that Leicester City defender, Ashleigh Plumptre, has pledged her allegiance to the Super Falcons of Nigeria. She was born to a Nigerian father and an English mother. Ashleigh played at junior levels for England before training with the Super Falcons earlier last year. Now, she has decided to represent the Nigerian Women's national football team ahead of the upcoming African Women's Nations Cup.
Here are five things to know about Ashleigh Plumptre.
1. The youngest Notts County Ladies debutant
Plumptre joined Women Super League (WSL) 1 side Notts County Ladies from Derby County in 2014 to kickstart her senior career. She made her debut for Nott County Ladies on 24 August 2014, and in doing so, she became the youngest Notts County debutant at 16 years 108 days.
2. Played in the United States of America
In her football career, Ashleigh Plumptre had a stint where she played in the United States of America. In 2016, Plumptre moved to the United States to play at the University of Southern California (USC). She played college soccer with them and scored her first collegiate goal, which was the game-winner in a 2–1 victory over Washington State on 22 October 2017.
Ashleigh also signed to play in the UWS with LA Galaxy OC during the college offseason in March 2019.
3. Majored in human biology
While playing at the University of Southern California, Plumptre majored in human biology and enjoyed academic success. Her academic success gave her Pac-12 academic recognition in 2017 and 2018. She was also named among the 2018 CoSIDA (a student-athlete recognition program) Academic All-District second team and 2019 United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America second team.
4. Played as an attacker at youth levels
Although Ashleigh Plumptre is recognized as one of the best defenders in the Women's Super League, she started out as an attacker in her early days.
She played predominantly as a forward or attacking midfielder at youth level for England. Plumptre represented England at under-15, under-17, under-19, and under-23 levels and was a decent goalscorer for them.
In 2019, Plumptre transitioned to playing centre-back while playing at the University of South Carolina.
5. Won the FA Women's Championship with Leicester
After her stint in the USA, Ashleigh opted to return to England and rejoin hometown club Leicester City in the FA Women's Championship despite interest from WSL clubs. In 2021, she helped Leicester City clinch the 2020/21 season league title. That was also Leicester City's first-ever promotion to the top-flight FA WSL.