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Rita Chikwelu

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Rita Chikwelu
Chikwelu with Umeå IK on 24 July 2011
Personal information
Date of birth (1988-03-06) 6 March 1988 (age 36)
Place of birth Asaba, Nigeria
Height 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)[1]
Position(s) Forward, midfielder
Team information
Current team
Al Shabab
Youth career
Cold City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
0000–2005 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– Al Shabab 8 (2)
International career
2007– Nigeria 33 (15)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 6 November 2022
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 5 July 2011

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

Club career

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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.[3]

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.[4] She later transferred to Madrid CFF and Levante Las Planas in Spain. In August 2023, she signed for Saudi club Al Shabab.[5]

International career

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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. 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.[6]

Honours

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References

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  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. ^ "Rita Chikwelu profile". Umeå IK. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  3. ^ "Naisten Liiga scorers 2006–2011". Finnish Football Association. Archived from the original on 6 February 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  4. ^ Fredriksson, Emelie (26 November 2016). "Rita Chikwelu klar för Kristianstads DFF" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  5. ^ "Transfer: Super Falcons midfielder completes Al Shabab transfer". Daily Post Nigeria. 24 August 2023.
  6. ^ 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.
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Media related to Rita Chikwelu at Wikimedia Commons