Former England youth International, Ashleigh Plumptre granted clearance by Fifa to play for Nigeria

England youth international Ashleigh Plumptre has been given the go-ahead to switch her international allegiance to Nigeria after Fifa approved her nationality thus enabling her to feature for the Super Falcons from now on.

Ms Plumptre, 23, who plays her club football with Leicester City,  has been capped for the England U15, U19 and U23 teams a total of about 30 times. Born of a Nigerian father and English mother, Ms Plumptre had top this undergo an official change and this week, Fifa issued the documentation enabling her to star for the Super Falcons.

Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) spokesman Ademola Olajire, said: “We are happy to receive Ashleigh’s official clearance from Fifa. It was only possible because of her commitment and dedication as she made the federation’s work a lot easier by providing all the requirements in quick time.”

Last year, Ms Plumptre was in camp with Nigeria’s Super Falcons in July 2021 in Austria and featured in a 1-0 win over Slovenian club Olimpija Ljubljana in a friendly. She also visited Nigeria for the first last November and shared memories of her time with her new teammates on social media.

To prove her eligibility to feature for  Nigeria, she had to get required documents such as a Nigerian passport. She then had to officially request clearance from the four home nations of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, as well from Nigeria’s ministry of  internal affairs.

Mr Olajire said: “Ashleigh personally approached the English FA directly to get the required international clearance from that end. Her professionalism and unflinching desire to play for Nigeria is honestly heart-warming.

“That big move on her part obviously helped a lot and prevented the long wait for the FA’s response. She got all the documents in a few months without being forced or persuaded.

“We’ve been through this Fifa process with other players in the past and others needed to be reminded. Ashleigh made personal sacrifices to ensure a smooth clearance.”

(Source: AyoAkinfe.com)