Joy Jegede (born 16 December 1991) is a Nigerian international footballer who plays as a defender. She is a member 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 ...

, and previously of the under-20 side. She was part of the team at the

2012 African Women's Championship The 2012 African Women's Championship was a football competition, which was organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The final tournament was held in from 28 October to 11 November in Equatorial Guinea. Qualification A total of ...

. On club level, she captains Nigerian-based

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 ...

, and previously played for

Bobruichanka Bobruisk Bobruichanka Bobruisk is a Belarusian women's football club from Bobruisk. The club is one of the most successful women's team in Belarus, as it won the Belarusian Premier League several times. History The team has won eight championships in a ro ...

in Belarus.

Career

Club

Joy Jegede was one of several Nigerian players in the squad of

, of the

Belarusian Premier League The Belarusian Premier League (, ''Vyšejšaja Liha'' or ''Vysheyshaya Liga''; ; "Top League"), also called the BETERA Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Belarus and the highest level of the B ...

. Nigerian fullback Queen Ejovwo Willian praised Jegede for making her feel accepted when she joined the side. Since at least 2015, Jegede has played for Nigerian-based

. She is the captain of the team.

International

Jegede was the captain of the

Nigeria women's national under-20 football team The Nigeria women's national under-20 football team, nicknamed the Falconets, represents Nigeria in international youth women's football competitions. Its primary role is the development of players in preparation for the senior Nigeria women's ...

at the

2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was the 5th edition of the tournament. It was held in Germany, who also hosted the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup a year later, from 13 July to 1 August 2010. Sixteen teams, comprising representatives from all si ...

, where the team ended up being defeated by

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in the final. Jegede soon moved onto the senior team, including being called up for the squad for qualifiers 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 ...

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 ...

, United Kingdom. She also formed part of the squad for the African Women's Championship that year. She has not been a permanent fixture in the national side, but was recalled once again for the qualifiers against

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

in 2015 for the following Olympic Games. She has continued to be involved in the national side since, being called up to the team for the

2016 Africa Women Cup of Nations The 2016 Women's Africa Cup of Nations was the 12th edition of the biennial African women's association football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football that was held in Cameroon. Originally scheduled to be held between 8 an ...

Personal

Jegede is the daughter of PA Jegede, a former superintendent of police.

References

1991 births Living people Nigerian women's footballers Nigeria women's international footballers Place of birth missing (living people) Women's association football defenders Nigerian expatriate women's footballers Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Belarus Expatriate women's footballers in Belarus Delta Queens F.C. players Bobruichanka Bobruisk players 21st-century Nigerian sportswomen {{Nigeria-women-footy-bio-stub