Chioma Grace Ubogagu (born 10 September 1992) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for

USL Super League The USL Super League (USLS), officially known as the Gainbridge Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional women's soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system, alongside the National Women's Socce ...

club

Dallas Trinity Dallas Trinity FC is an American professional women's soccer club based in Dallas, Texas, that competes in the USL Super League (USLS). History Establishment A team representing the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex was announced in May 2023, ...

. A former United States youth international, she represented

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

at senior level. She previously played for

Orlando Pride The Orlando Pride are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Orlando, Florida, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The Pride began play in the 2016 National Women's Soccer League season, 2016 ...

Brisbane Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is a professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland. competing in Australia's premier men's competition, A-League Men, which is the top tier Australia's football pyramid. When Queensland Lions F.C. were ...

Houston Dash The Houston Dash are an American professional soccer team based in Houston, Texas, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The Dash began play in the 2014 season. The team plays its home games at Shell Energy Stadium. His ...

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

, and

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

. Ubogagu played collegiate soccer for

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

and was capped at various youth levels for the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, winning the

2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was the 6th edition of the tournament. The tournament was played in Japan from 19 August to 8 September with sixteen national football teams and marked the first hosting of a FIFA women's tournament in the co ...

. She chose to represent the England national team at the senior level in 2018, earning three caps.

Early life and college career

Ubogagu was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where her parents, mother Tina a nurse and father Aloy a social worker, had moved from

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

seeking job opportunities. At age 3, her parents divorced and she moved with her mother and older brother to

Coppell, Texas Coppell ( ) is a city in the northwest corner of Dallas County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is a suburb of Dallas and a bedroom community in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its population was 42,983 at the 2020 census. A small area in th ...

a suburb in the

Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas and the Southern United States, ...

. 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 Coppell High School is a public high school located in Coppell, Texas. It is part of the Coppell Independent School District located in extreme northwest Dallas County. Overview The school graduated its first class of twenty-five students in ...

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 ''ESPN HS'' was a high school sports magazine published monthly during the school year in 25 markets around the United States. Founded as ''SchoolSports'' magazine in 1997, the publication changed its name to ''RISE'' in 2006 and was purchased ...

and twice each by the

NSCAA The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than ...

and ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

''. In addition, she was all All-Area selection by ''

Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...

'', all four years of her high school career. Ubogagu came to Stanford as the #1-ranked recruit in the nation by

Top Drawer Soccer TopDrawerSoccer.com (TDS) is an American soccer website that is dedicated to youth soccer in the United States. Specifically, the website focuses on Academy soccer, high school soccer, and college soccer in the United States. The website was lau ...

. During her freshman year, she won the

Pac-12 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

Freshman of the Year in 2011 and helped the Cardinal win their first

Women's College Cup The NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship, sometimes known as the Women's College Cup, is an American College soccer in the United States, college soccer tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and dete ...

, 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 The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional Association football, soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system#Women's leagues, United States soccer league system (alongside the USL Supe ...

Sky Blue FC Gotham Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in the New York metropolitan area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2006 as Jersey Sky Blue, the team was known as Sky Blue FC from 2008 un ...

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 The Women's Super League (WSL), also known as the Barclays Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons, and formerly the FA WSL, is a professional association football league and the highest level of women's football in England. Currently oper ...

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 Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

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

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 The National Women's Soccer League Player of the Week was a weekly soccer award given to individual players in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) from 2013 to 2023. The honor was awarded by popular social media vote to the player deemed to ...

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 FC Kansas City was an American professional women's soccer club based in Kansas City, Missouri. The team was one of the eight founding clubs of the National Women's Soccer League in 2012, and began play in 2013. They were two-time NWSL champio ...

Orlando Pride

On 23 January 2017, the

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,

announced they had signed Ubogagu for the

2018–19 W-League The 2018–19 W-League season was the eleventh season of the W-League, the Australian national women's association football competition. Clubs Stadia and locations Personnel and kits Managerial changes Transfers Foreign players Th ...

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 Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from the Australi ...

. She ended the season with 2 goals.

CD Tacón/Real Madrid

On 31 August 2019, Ubogagu joined Spanish Primera División team

CD Tacón Real Madrid Femenino is a Spanish professional women's football club in Madrid who play in the Primera División, the top tier of Spanish women's football. Founded as the independent Club Deportivo TACÓN in 2014, the club later underwent a m ...

Tottenham Hotspur

On 31 July 2021, Ubogagu joined

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 An ovarian cyst is a fluid-filled sac within the ovary. They usually cause no symptoms, but occasionally they may produce bloating, lower abdominal pain, or lower back pain. The majority of cysts are harmless. If the cyst either #Cyst rupture, br ...

. She made a return to professional football in July 2024 when she signed for

ahead of the inaugural

season. Ubogagu made her club debut on 18 August 2024 during Dallas's inaugural match against

Tampa Bay Sun FC Tampa Bay Sun FC is an American professional women's soccer club based in Tampa, Florida, that competes in the USL Super League (USLS). Sun FC is owned by real estate developer and investor Darryl Shaw, Bern's Steak House owner David Laxer, and ...

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 Lexington Sporting Club is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 2021 as an expansion side in USL League One (the third division of the United States soccer league system), the clu ...

, 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. On 9 March 2025, she scored an early opener against

Brooklyn FC Brooklyn F.C. may refer to: *Brooklyn FC (USL), American soccer club (founded 2023) *Brooklyn Field Club, defunct American soccer club (1898–1924) *Brooklyn F.C. (Dublin), defunct Irish football club (1920s) *Brooklyn F.C. (New York), defunct Am ...

and assisted

Allie Thornton Alexis Taylor Thornton (born December 2, 1997) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for USL Super League club Dallas Trinity. Thornton played college soccer for the SMU Mustangs, earning first-team All-AAC honors fo ...

twice in the span of three minutes to boost Dallas to a 6–0 victory over the league leaders. On 31 May 2025, she scored the second goal in the season finale against the Carolina Ascent, a 2–1 win that secured a playoff berth for Dallas.

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

, appearing in all six games and scoring once, and the

2012 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship The 2012 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship was the sixth edition of the CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship. The final tournament was hosted by Panama from 1 to 11 March 2012. All matches were played at the Estadio Rommel Fernández. The top three ...

, 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 Philip John Neville (born 21 January 1977) is an English association football, football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Major League Soccer club Portland Timbers. He is also the co-owner of Salford City F.C., Salford ...

called Ubogagu up to the

England national team Team England usually refers to the name under which athletes representing Commonwealth Games England compete. England team or Team England may refer to: *Commonwealth Games England *England national football team *England cricket team *England nat ...

for a set of friendlies in November 2018 against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. 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

and

. Ubogagu became an Arsenal fan watching the

North London derby The North London derby is the meeting of the association football clubs Arsenal F.C., Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur, both of which are based in North London, England. Fans of both clubs consider the other to be their main ...

, despite her father urging her to support Tottenham. Her name Chioma means "Good God" in the

Igbo language Igbo ( , ; Standard Igbo: ''Ásụ̀sụ́ Ìgbò'' ) is the principal native language cluster of the Igbo people, an ethnicity in the Southeastern part of Nigeria. Igbo languages are spoken by a total of 31 million people. The number of Igbo ...

, spoken primarily by the Igbo people in south eastern Nigeria.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list England goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ubogagu goal.''

Honours

United States U20 *

FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup is an international association football tournament, organized by FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), for national teams of women under the age of 20. The tournament is held biennially. ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship The CONCACAF Women's Under-20 Championship is an association football competition for women's national under-20 teams in the North America, Central America and Caribbean region. It serves as the qualification tournament for the FIFA U-20 Women's ...

England *

SheBelieves Cup The SheBelieves Cup is an invitational women's association football, women's soccer tournament held in different cities in the United States in late February or early March. In its first three years (2016, 2017, and 2018), it was contested by t ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

College *

NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship The NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship, sometimes known as the Women's College Cup, is an American college soccer tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and determines the Division I women's natio ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

References

External links

* *
Stanford profile

US Soccer profile

Arsenal profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ubogagu, Chioma 1992 births Living people Footballers from London American women's soccer players English emigrants to the United States Stanford Cardinal women's soccer players Arsenal W.F.C. players American people of Igbo descent American expatriate sportspeople in England Women's Super League players Pali Blues players Soccer players from Dallas County, Texas Soccer players from Denton County, Texas Sportspeople from Coppell, Texas Parade High School All-Americans (girls' soccer) Women's association football forwards Houston Dash players Brisbane Roar FC (women) players National Women's Soccer League players Igbo sportspeople Gotham FC draft picks United States women's under-20 international soccer players English people of Nigerian descent Sportspeople of Nigerian descent African-American soccer players American sportspeople of Nigerian descent Orlando Pride players English women's footballers England women's international footballers English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States English expatriate women's footballers Real Madrid Femenino players Liga F players 21st-century American sportswomen 21st-century African-American sportswomen Black British sportswomen Doping cases in association football Coppell High School alumni United States women's youth international soccer players USL Super League players Dallas Trinity FC players 21st-century English sportswomen