Esther Okoronkwo

Esther Okoronkwo
Okoronkwo in 2026
Personal information
Full name Ijeoma Esther Okoronkwo[1]
Date of birth (1997-03-27) 27 March 1997[2]
Place of birth Abia State, Nigeria
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[3]
Position Forward[3]
Team information
Current team
 AFC Toronto
Number 23
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2017 Northeast Texas Eagles 33 (28)
2018–2021 Lamar Lady Cardinals 39 (35)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021–2023 Saint-Étienne 27 (7)
2023–2024 UD Tenerife 10 (2)
2024–2025 Changchun Dazhong Zhuoyue
2025– AFC Toronto 25 (9)
International career‡
2021– Nigeria 28 (11)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 11 August 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 16 August 2026

Ijeoma Esther Okoronkwo Listenⓘ OON (born 27 March 1997) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Canadian Northern Super League club AFC Toronto and the Nigeria national team.

Early life

Okoronkwo was born in Abia State and raised in Richmond, Texas, United States.[3]

College career

Okoronkwo has attended the John and Randolph Foster High School. She spent two years at the Northeast Texas Community College, and then moved to Lamar University while she was recovering from a torn ACL.[4][3][5]

Club career

In June 2023, Okoronkwo joined Spanish Liga F club UD Tenerife.[6]

In February 2025, Okoronkwo signed with at Northern Super League club AFC Toronto.[7] On 1 May 2025, she scored both goals in a 2–1 victory over Calgary Wild FC, to help the club earn their first win in club history.[8] She was named the NSL assist leader upon the conclusion of the inaugural NSL regular season, having tallied 7 assists that season and was also named to the league's Team of the Season.[9][10] On November 10, 2025, she scored a hat trick in a 4-1 victory over Montreal Roses FC, in the second leg of the playoff semi-finals, to help her club advance to the championship final.[11] On January 15, 2026, it was announced that she had signed a contract extension to keep her with AFC Toronto through 2027.[12] She scored in the opening game of the 2026 season, a 3-2 win over Vancouver Rise FC on 24 April 2026.[13]

International career

Okoronkwo made her senior debut for Nigeria on 10 June 2021 as a 43rd-minute substitution in a 0–1 friendly loss to Jamaica.[14]

On 23 February 2022, she scored her first goal against Ivory Coast in a 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification match in Ivory Coast, after receiving a pass from Michelle Alozie. The goal gave Nigeria a 1-0 away victory over the Ivory Coast and ensured qualification for the 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations with a 3-0 aggregate scoreline.

On 16 June 2023, she was included in the 23-player Nigerian squad for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023.[15]

Okoronkwo was called up to the Nigeria squad for the 2024 Summer Olympics.[16]

At the 2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), Okoronkwo emerged as the talisman for the Super Falcons. During the quarter finals, she scored once and created two assists in the 5-0 demolition of Zambia to advance the Falcons to the semi final.[17]

At the final match played on July 26, 2025 versus Morocco (in Rabat, Morocco), Okoronkwo converted a 60th minute penalty kick, set up Folashade Ijamilusi for a goal at 70th minute and threaded a weighted free-kick to Jennifer Echegini, who scored at the 88th minute.[18]

International goals

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.23 February 2022Stade Robert Champroux, Abidjan, Ivory Coast Ivory Coast1–01–02022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification
2.21 February 2023Estadio León, León, Mexico Costa Rica1–01–02023 Women's Revelations Cup
3.7 April 2023Marden Sports Complex, Alanya, Turkey Haiti1–02–1Friendly
4.30 November 2023Onikan Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria Cape Verde4–05–02024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification
5.5–0
6.5 December 2023Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde, Praia, Cape Verde Cape Verde1–12–1
7.26 February 2024Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, Nigeria Cameroon1–01–02024 CAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament
8.18 July 2025Larbi Zaouli Stadium, Casablanca, Morocco Zambia2−05−02024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations
9.26 July 2025Olympic Stadium, Rabat, Morocco Morocco1−23−2
10.24 October 2025Stade de Kégué, Lomé, Togo Benin2–02–02026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification
11.22 July 2026Lenoria sports Complex, Casablanca, Morocco Tanzania2–12–1Friendly

Honours

Nigeria

Orders

References

  1. ↑ "USWNT vs. Nigeria score: Goals from Christen Press and Lynn Williams seal three-game Summer Series sweep". 17 June 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  2. ↑ Esther Okoronkwo at Soccerway. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Esther Okoronkwo - 2020 - Women's Soccer". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  4. ↑ "Esther Okoronkwo - 2016 - Women's Soccer". Northeast Texas Community College Athletics. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  5. ↑ Kourabi, Mariam (24 September 2025). "'I knew I was good': NSL star Esther Okoronkwo's dogged pursuit to play the game she loves". CBC Sports. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
  6. ↑ "La UDG Tenerife ficha a Esther Okoronkwo" [UDG Tenerife signs Esther Okoronkwo] (in Spanish). Liga F. 1 June 2023.
  7. ↑ "AFC Toronto Signs Nigerian International Esther Okoronkwo". www.afctoronto.ca.
  8. ↑ "Okoronkwo's brace leads AFC Toronto past Calgary Wild for 1st NSL victory". CBC Sports. 1 May 2025.
  9. ↑ "Northern Super League Concludes Inaugural Regular Season". NSL - Official site of the Northern Super League. 20 October 2025. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
  10. ↑ "Ottawa Rapid forward DB Pridham completes near sweep of Northern Super League awards". Times Colonist. 31 October 2025.
  11. ↑ "Okoronkwo nets 1st-half hat trick as AFC Toronto thumps Montreal Roses FC en route to NSL final". CBC Sports. 10 November 2025.
  12. ↑ "AFC Toronto Confirms Additional Roster Updates for 2026 Season". AFC Toronto. 15 January 2026. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
  13. ↑ Burns, Anna (25 April 2026). "Vancouver Rise FC fall short in season opener against AFC Toronto". The Williams Lake Tribune. Retrieved 25 April 2026.
  14. ↑ "Match Report of Jamaica vs Nigeria - 2021-06-10 - FIFA Friendlies - Women". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  15. ↑ Ryan Dabbs (14 June 2023). "Nigeria Women's World Cup 2023 squad: most recent call ups". fourfourtwo.com. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  16. ↑ "Paris 2024 Olympics: Waldrum picks Ajibade, Nnadozie, Oshoala, 15 others". thenff.com. Nigeria Football Federation. 3 July 2024.
  17. ↑ "Nigeria 5-0 Zambia: Five-star Super Falcons run riot, melt Copper girls to reach WAFCON semis". 18 July 2025.
  18. ↑ "2024 Women's AFCON: Nigeria stages comeback against Morocco to clinch 10th title". 28 July 2025.
  19. ↑ "Nigeria produce stunning comeback to beat Morocco and win 10th WAFCON title". CAF. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
Wikiquote has quotations related to Esther Okoronkwo.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.