It's my dream - Ashleigh Plumptre hopes to cap career at Olympics with Super Falcons

Super Falcons defender Ashleigh Plumptre has revealed a childhood dream of appearing at the Olympics with Nigeria.

Plumptre says that playing at the global showpiece will be the pinnacle of her sporting career.

The 25-year-old has already featured in another football fiesta starring at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, FIFAWWC. 

Plumptre was one of the stars of the tournament for Nigeria as the Super Falcons shocked bookmakers to reach the knockout stage in the tournament co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia.

She played a pivotal role in helping the 11-time African champions keep three clean sheets in four matches for the first time at the FIFAWWC.

The former Leicester City star featured from start to finish before Nigeria Super Falcons exited the competition against European champions, England, after a penalty shootout defeat in the round of 16.

Following her World Cup debut, Plumptre sealed a move to Saudi Arabia to join Al-Ittihad Ladies as a free agent. 

The versatile defender, who can play as a centre-back and left-back, has set her sights on another dream after FIFAWWC.

In an interview with Arab News, Plumptre wants to play at the Olympics which she believes would be the ‘pinnacle of her career.’

“Would it be the pinnacle of my career? Yes,” Plumptre said per the report. “It makes me smile just thinking about the Olympics. I love helping people and the only thing I was really interested in at school was human biology.

“I was just fascinated with the human body. My dream when I was younger was to be a doctor on an Olympic team because I love the Olympics.”

To realise her dream, Plumptre would need the Super Falcons to overcome a tough qualifying series that will see them face the Indomitable Lioness in February.

Should Nigeria survive the two-legged encounter, African champions South Africa or Tanzania will lie in wait for the final round of matches in April for a ticket to the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Plumptre has 15 caps for Nigeria but has not featured for the Falcons since the FIFAWWC in Australia and New Zealand.