FIFA clears Leicester’s Ashleigh Plumptre to play for Nigeria
Former England youth international Ashleigh Plumptre has been cleared by FIFA to switch her allegiance to Nigeria.
Plumper, 23, who plays for Women’s Super League side Leicester City, is eligible to represent the African champions because of her father’s Nigerian heritage.
After joining training camps in Austria and Abuja, she has now been cleared by FIFA and is eligible for Nigeria’s 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations play-off against Ivory Coast in February.
“We are happy to receive Ashleigh’s official clearance from Fifa,” NFF director of communications Ademola Olajire told BBC Sport Africa.
It was only possible because of her commitment and dedication. She made the federation’s work a lot easier by providing all the requirements in quick time.
Plumptre, who has a British mother, had been capped 30 times by England at youth level but qualified for Nigeria through the grandparent rule.
Plumptre joins a growing list of foreign-born players like Michelle Alozie, Patricia George and Nicole and Toni Payne, who all opted to represent the nine-time African champions.
She has played 25 games this season for Leicester women’s side which she first joined as an eight-year-old.
She previously played in the English top flight with Notts County in 2014 before moving to the United States.
After she helped the Foxes to the FA Women’s Championship title in 2020-21, Plumptre was voted player of the season and rewarded with a new two-year deal.
