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Uchenna Kanu

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Uchenna Kanu
Kanu with Racing Louisville FC in 2024
Personal information
Full name Uchenna Grace Kanu
Date of birth (1997-06-20) 20 June 1997 (age 27)[1]
Place of birth Abia, Nigeria[2]
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[3]
Position(s) Forward[1]
Team information
Current team
 Racing Louisville
Number 29
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2019 Southeastern Fire 78 (157)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2020 Pensacola FC 12 (17)
2020 Sevilla 4 (0)
2020–2021 Linköpings FC 42 (22)
2022–2023 UANL 30 (20)
2023– Racing Louisville 28 (5)
International career‡
2014 Nigeria U17 4 (3)
2014 Nigeria U20 3 (0)
2019– Nigeria 31 (20)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15 July 2020
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 5 December 2023

Uchenna Grace Kanu (born 20 June 1997) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a forward for NWSL club Racing Louisville and the Nigeria women's national team.

Career

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On 3 December 2021, Kanu was announced at Tigres UANL.[4] In joining Tigres, she became the first African player to play in the Liga MX Femenil.[5]

On 2 February 2023, Kanu was announced at Racing Louisville on a two year contract with an option for the 2025 season. In exchange for Kanu, Racing Louisville used allocation money to pay a transfer free, and loaned Riley Parker to Tigres UANL.[6]

International career

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Kanu represented Nigeria at the 2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup and the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. She made her senior debut on 8 April 2019 in a 1–2 friendly loss to Canada.

On 24 May 2019, Kanu was called up to the Nigeria squad for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.[7]

Kanu was called up to the Nigeria squad for the 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations.[8]

On 16 June 2023, she was included in the 23-player Nigerian squad for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023.[9]

Kanu was called up to the Nigeria squad for the 2024 Summer Olympics.[10]

Personal life

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In her earlier years, at the age of 26, she shared her journey, saying, "I used to sell oranges and water on the streets of Aba. My brother and I would hawk sodas like Coca-Cola, Fanta, and Pepsi in the market. We'd cross paths, share a laugh, and then go our separate ways." Now, Kanu excels as a forward for NWSL club Racing Louisville in the United States, having risen to prominence through her representation of Nigeria in various FIFA Women's World Cups.[11][12]

Career statistics

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International goals

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No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 9 May 2019 Stade Robert Champroux de Macory, Abidjan, Ivory Coast  Burkina Faso 1-0 5-1 2019 WAFU Zone B Women's Cup
2 4-1
3 5-1
4 11 May 2019 Stade Robert Champroux de Macory, Abidjan, Ivory Coast  Niger 2-0 15-0 2019 WAFU Zone B Women's Cup
5 3-0
6 6-0
7 7-0
8 11-0
9 14 May 2019 Stade Robert Champroux de Macory, Abidjan, Ivory Coast  Mali 2-0 2-0 2019 WAFU Zone B Women's Cup
10 18 May 2019 Stade Robert Champroux de Macory, Abidjan, Ivory Coast  Ivory Coast 1-1 1-1 2019 WAFU Zone B Women's Cup
11 23 February 2021 Arslan Zeki Demirci Sports Complex, Ilıca, Turkey  Equatorial Guinea 5–0 9–0 2021 Turkish Women's Cup
12 20 October 2021 Onikan Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria  Ghana 1–0 2–0 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification
13 2–0
14 10 July 2022 Stade Moulay Hassan, Rabat, Morocco  Burundi 3–0 4–0 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations
15 4–0
16 6 September 2022 Audi Field, Washington D.C., United States  United States 1–1 1–2 Friendly
17 27 July 2023 Lang Park, Brisbane, Australia  Australia 1–1 3–2 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
18 31 October 2023 MKO Abiola Stadium, Abuja, Nigeria  Ethiopia 1–0 4–0 2024 CAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament
19 30 November 2023 MKO Abiola Stadium, Abuja, Nigeria  Cape Verde 1-0 5-0 2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification
20 3-0

References

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  1. ^ a b Uchenna Kanu at Soccerway
  2. ^ "Uchenna Grace Kanu". Liga MX Femenil (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Uchenna Kanu – 2018 Women's Soccer – Southeastern University". Southeastern University Athletics.
  4. ^ "Llega Uchenna Kanu a Tigres Femenil" [Uchenna Kanu joins Tigres Women's team]. www.tigres.com.mx (in Spanish).
  5. ^ "Tigres Femenil ficha a Uchenna Kanu, la primera jugadora africana de la Liga MX" [Tigres Femenil signs Uchenna Kanu, the first African player in Liga MX.]. latinus.us (in Spanish).
  6. ^ "Racing signs star forward Uchenna Kanu, loans Riley Parker" (Press release). Racing Louisville FC. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  7. ^ Okeleji, Oluwashina (25 May 2019). "2019 Women's World Cup: Veteran Onome Ebi included in Nigeria squad". BBC Sport.
  8. ^ "Morocco 2022: Waldrum picks Ebi, Oshoala, Plumptre, 22 others for Women AFCON". Nigeria Football Federation. 25 June 2022.
  9. ^ Ryan Dabbs (14 June 2023). "Nigeria Women's World Cup 2023 squad: most recent call ups". fourfourtwo.com. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  10. ^ "Paris 2024 Olympics: Waldrum picks Ajibade, Nnadozie, Oshoala, 15 others". thenff.com. Nigeria Football Federation. 3 July 2024.
  11. ^ Vanguard News (28 September 2023). "Uchena kanu".
  12. ^ https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/287381/uchenna-kanu
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