NEW SUPER FALCONS defender, Ashleigh Plumptre, says she is proud to represent Nigeria, the country of her father, over England, where she was born, saying people always thought she was white.
The Leicester City defender had represented England’s U-23 team but requested to switch nationality from England to Nigeria, which FIFA approved in January.
Plumptre debuted on a winning note for Nigeria as the Falcons beat the Ivory Coast’s Lady Elephants 2-0 in the first of their final qualifier for the 2022 Women Africa Cup of Nations.
In an interview with BBC East Midlands, the 23-year-old said a lot of people had always questioned her heritage.
“It’s always been an assumption that I’m white,” said Plumptre.
“I get a lot of messages and people question my heritage a lot, but I can’t necessarily blame them. It comes down to education.
“What people see is what they think. People don’t want to have the conversation or want to consider anything deeper than what they see.
“It’s putting a marker down. It’s not just what you predict a Nigerian to be. For me, I know the importance of representing something bigger than me.
“I’m representing the mixed-race community and especially for the younger ones coming through. You don’t have to look a certain way or be told you are a certain way, you can feel it and you can be it.”
Plumptre helped the Falcons qualify for the WAFCON for the 12th time, following a 1-0 win (3-0 on aggregate) over Ivory Coast in Abidjan on Wednesday.
