Uche Eucharia Ngozi (born 18 June 1973 in

Mbaise Mbaise is a region in Imo State in southeastern Nigeria. In the heart of Igboland, the region includes several towns and cities. The population is composed of indigenous clans, connected by intermarriage. With a population density of over 1,000 p ...

Imo State Imo () is a States of Nigeria, state in the South East (Nigeria), South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by Anambra State, Rivers State to the west and south, and Abia State to the east. It takes its name from the Imo R ...

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, ...

) is a former Nigerian football player and a former head coach of the

Nigeria women's national football team The Nigeria women's national football team, nicknamed the Super Falcons, represents Nigeria in international women's association football, women's football and is controlled by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). The team is Africa's most s ...

. She has served as both the first female assistant coach and also the first female head coach of Nigeria's national women's team. She is currently a

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

and

Confederation of African Football The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is the administrative and controlling body for association football, beach soccer, and futsal in Africa. It was established on 8 February 1957 at the ''Grand Hotel'' in Khartoum, Sudan. At the FIFA Co ...

instructor. Uche grew up in

Owerri Owerri ( , ) is the capital city of Imo State in Nigeria, set in the heart of Igboland. It is also the state's largest city, followed by Orlu, Nigeria, Orlu, Okigwe and Ohaji/Egbema. Owerri consists of three Local Government Areas of Nigeria, Loc ...

Early life

The first of five children, she was brought up in a middle-class environment. She attended the Egbu Girls Secondary School Owerri, before heading to

Delta State University Delta State University (DSU) is a public university in Cleveland, Mississippi, a city in the Mississippi Delta. History The school was established in 1924 by the State of Mississippi, using the facilities of the former Bolivar County Agricultu ...

. While in secondary school, Uche began playing football. In her playing days, she played for Bendel Striking Queens, present-day Edo Queens,

Rivers Angels Rivers Angels F.C. (formerly Larry Angels F.C.) is a Nigerian professional football club based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State in Nigeria. They play in the Nigeria Women Premier League, the top flight in the national female soccer league pyramid ...

, and Ufuoma Babes, present-day

Delta Queens Delta Queens is a women's football club in Delta State, Nigeria. One of the most successful Nigerian club sides, they compete in the Nigeria Women Premier League, the highest division of female football in the country. They play their home games a ...

. She later played for the Nigerian National team

Super Falcons The Nigeria women's national football team, nicknamed the Super Falcons, represents Nigeria in international women's association football, women's football and is controlled by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). The team is Africa's most s ...

. In her playing days, she became the first African female to be named Top Scorer in an international match, as well as the first Nigerian female to score an international hat-trick, Nigeria vs Ghana 1999. She went on and became their first female coach. In 2010, she became the first woman coach to win an

African Women's Championship The Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies Women's Africa Cup of Nations and formerly the African Women's Championship, is a biennial international women's football tournament organized by t ...

title. She was sacked in October 2011 after Nigeria failed to qualify for the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Controversy

Uche was cautioned by

for remarks she made during the

2011 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup was the sixth FIFA Women's World Cup competition, the world championship for List of women's national association football teams, women's national association football, football teams. It was held from 26 June to ...

, in which she called

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

a "concerning issue" that affected the seriousness of her players.

Honours

; Nigeria Coach *

Winner (2):

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

(as Assistant Coach) Club Coach * Nigeria Women Football League Winner (1): 2003 * Nigeria Women's Cup Winner (2): 2004, 2006

References

External links

Official Website of the Nigeria Football Federation
at the FIFA website.
Nigeria
at CAF Online 1973 births Living people Footballers from Imo State Nigeria women's international footballers 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup managers Female association football managers 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup players 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup players Nigerian women's footballers Nigeria women's national football team managers Women's association football forwards People from Mbaise Nigerian football managers Igbo people {{Nigeria-women-footy-bio-stub