Chioma Ubogagu facts for kids
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Chioma Grace Ubogagu | ||
Date of birth | 10 September 1992 | ||
Place of birth | London, England | ||
Height | 1.70 m | ||
Playing position | Forward | ||
Club information | |||
Current club | Dallas Trinity | ||
Number | 14 | ||
Youth career | |||
2007–2010 | Coppell Cowgirls | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
2013–2014 | Pali Blues | – | (–) |
2015 | Arsenal | 14 | (6) |
2016 | Houston Dash | 15 | (1) |
2017–2019 | Orlando Pride | 58 | (12) |
2018–2019 | → Brisbane Roar (loan) | 11 | (2) |
2019–2021 | Real Madrid | 29 | (7) |
2021–2023 | Tottenham Hotspur | 19 | (0) |
2024– | Dallas Trinity | 5 | (2) |
National team‡ | |||
2008–2011 | United States U18 | ||
2012 | United States U20 | ||
2014–2015 | United States U23 | ||
2018–2019 | England | 3 | (1) |
† Appearances (Goals). |
Chioma Grace Ubogagu (born 10 September 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for USL Super League club Dallas Trinity. A former United States youth international, she represented England at senior level.
She previously played for Orlando Pride, Brisbane Roar, Houston Dash, Arsenal, Real Madrid, and Tottenham Hotspur. Ubogagu played collegiate soccer for Stanford University and was capped at various youth levels for the United States, winning the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. She chose to represent the England national team at the senior level in 2018, earning three caps.
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Early life and career
Ubogagu was born in London, where her parents, mother Tina a nurse and father Aloy a social worker, had moved from Nigeria seeking job opportunities. At age 3, her parents divorced and she moved with her mother and older brother to Coppell, Texas a suburb in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.
Ubogagu led her club team, D'Feeters, to two Texas-North State Cup titles, a U.S. Youth Soccer Association Region II championship and a 2010 third-place U-17 national finish, and led Coppell High School to the 2009 Texas 5A state title. She was also named 2010 Gatorade Texas Player of the Year, all-America three times by ESPN RISE and twice each by the NSCAA and Parade. In addition, she was all All-Area selection by Dallas Morning News, all four years of her high school career.
Ubogagu came to Stanford as the #1-ranked recruit in the nation by Top Drawer Soccer. During her freshman year, she won the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year in 2011 and helped the Cardinal win their first Women's College Cup, making the all-tournament team in the process. Stanford returned to the final in 2012 and to the semifinal in 2014. She finished her college career with 27 goals in 89 total appearances, made the All-Pac-12 team all four seasons, earning first-team honors in 2012 and 2014.
Club career
Arsenal
In January 2015, National Women's Soccer League's Sky Blue FC selected Ubogagu with the 28th pick of the 2015 NWSL College Draft, although coach Jim Gabarra acknowledged she was in negotiations with an FA WSL club. In February 2015, Ubogagu signed with Arsenal, the club she'd supported as a child and her British birth made it easier for her to acquire a United Kingdom work permit.
Ubogagu made her professional debut on 3 April 2015, scoring a goal in a 1–1 draw against Notts County.
Houston Dash
Arsenal released Ubogagu having reached the end of her contract in November 2015. She finished her season with seven goals in 21 appearances. Subsequently, the Houston Dash acquired the rights to Ubogagu from the Sky Blue FC in exchange for picks in the 2016 and 2017 college drafts. The trade gave the Dash an opportunity to sign her before the start of the NWSL season in March 2016.
Ubogagu was named NWSL Player of the Week in week 4 of the 2016 season for her one-goal and one assist performance to lead Houston to a 2–1 victory over FC Kansas City.
Orlando Pride
On 23 January 2017, the Orlando Pride acquired Ubogagu from the Houston Dash, in exchange for Orlando's natural third round pick in the 2018 NWSL College Draft. In 2017 Ubogagu appeared in 19 games for Orlando, scoring 4 goals. On 16 February 2018 the Orlando Pride announced they had signed Ubogagu to a new contract ahead of the 2018 season. On 29 August 2019, Ubogagu was waived by the Orlando Pride to allow her to pursue a playing opportunity in Europe.
Brisbane Roar (loan)
On 5 October 2018, Brisbane Roar announced they had signed Ubogagu for the 2018–19 W-League season, where she would be joining fellow Orlando Pride teammate Carson Pickett on loan. She scored her first goal for the team on 29 November 2018, in a 1–0 victory over Newcastle Jets. She ended the season with 2 goals.
CD Tacón/Real Madrid
On 31 August 2019, Ubogagu joined Spanish Primera División team CD Tacón.
Tottenham Hotspur
On 31 July 2021, Ubogagu joined Tottenham Hotspur on a two-year contract. In April 2022, Ubogagu was suspended for 9 months backdated to start from January 2022 for anti-doping violations as a result of taking medication prescribed by a personal doctor to treat acne before signing for the club. She made her return to playing in October 2022. She was confirmed to have left the club upon the expiry of her contract at the end of 2022–23 season having made 27 appearances for the club, scoring one goal.
Dallas Trinity
Having last played in March 2023, Ubogagu had returned to the United States to undergo treatment for a fibroid and an ovarian cyst. She made a return to professional football in July 2024 when she signed for Dallas Trinity ahead of the inaugural USL Super League season.
Ubogagu made her club debut on 18 August 2024 during Dallas's inaugural match against Tampa Bay Sun FC in a 1–1 draw. She also provided the first assist in club history in extra time of the first half. On 13 September 2024, in a home match against Lexington SC, Ubogagu scored twice in the second half, becoming the first player in club and league history to record a brace. Her performance helped Dallas secure their first-ever victory ending in 6–2.
International career
Because of her parents and her place of birth, Ubogagu was eligible to represent Nigeria, England or the United States. She chose to represent the United States at the youth level, playing for their under-18, under-20 and under-23 teams. She settled on representing England at the senior level, accepting a call up from the side in October 2018 and making her England and senior international debut on 8 November 2018.
Ubogagu has represented the United States at youth levels, including U-18, U-20, and U-23 teams. With the U-20, she won the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, appearing in all six games and scoring once, and the 2012 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, where she scored the winning goal in the final, and scored six goals in a stretch of eight games at one point in 2012.
Ubogagu received her first call-up to the United States Women's National Team on 31 October 2017 for the set of two friendlies against Canada in November. Ubogagu was not capped for the full national team and she did not dress as part of the 18 for either game.
Phil Neville called Ubogagu up to the England national team for a set of friendlies in November 2018 against Sweden and Austria. She scored on her England and senior international debut in a 3–0 win against Austria on 8 November 2018.
Ubogagu was allotted 210 when the FA announced their legacy numbers scheme to honour the 50th anniversary of England's inaugural international.
Personal life
Her grandfather Austin Eneuke played for Nigeria and Tottenham Hotspur. Ubogagu became an Arsenal fan watching the North London derby, despite her father urging her to support Tottenham.
Her name Chioma means "Good God" in the Igbo language, spoken primarily by the Igbo people in south eastern Nigeria.
Career statistics
Club
.
Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Arsenal | 2015 | FA WSL 1 | 14 | 6 | – | 5 | 1 | 19 | 7 | |
Houston Dash | 2016 | NWSL | 15 | 1 | – | – | 15 | 1 | ||
Orlando Pride | 2017 | 20 | 4 | – | – | 20 | 4 | |||
2018 | 21 | 4 | – | – | 21 | 4 | ||||
2019 | 17 | 4 | – | – | 17 | 4 | ||||
Total | 87 | 19 | – | 5 | 1 | 92 | 20 | |||
Brisbane Roar (loan) | 2018–19 | W-League | 11 | 2 | – | – | 11 | 2 | ||
Real Madrid | 2019–20 | Primera División | 18 | 5 | 2 | 0 | – | 20 | 5 | |
2020–21 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 11 | 2 | |||
Total | 29 | 7 | 2 | 0 | – | 31 | 7 | |||
Tottenham Hotspur | 2021–22 | WSL | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 1 |
2022–23 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 0 | ||
Total | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 27 | 1 | ||
Dallas Trinity FC | 2024–25 | USL Super League | 5 | 2 | – | – | 5 | 2 | ||
Total | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | ||
Career total | 140 | 28 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 155 | 30 |
International
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
England | 2018 | 1 | 1 |
2019 | 2 | 0 | |
Total | 3 | 1 |
- Scores and results list England goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ubogagu goal.
No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 8 November 2018 | BSFZ-Arena, Maria Enzersdorf, Austria | Austria | 1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
Honours
United States U20
- FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup: 2012
- CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship: 2012
England
- SheBelieves Cup: 2019
See also
In Spanish: Chioma Ubogagu para niños