Una Obiose Kriston Nwajei (born 7 March 1977) is a former

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 ...

. She played as a striker for

Amazon Grimstad Amazon Grimstad FK is a Professional Norway, Norwegian Women's football (soccer), women's football club from Grimstad. It is named after the Amazons of Greek mythology. It was founded in 1999 when the women's football section split from FK Jerv. ...

. Born in Nigeria, 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 international level.

Club career

Nwajei began playing for

Southampton Saints Southampton Saints were a motorcycle speedway team which operated from 1928 until its closure in 1963. Its track was located at Banister Court Stadium in Southampton, Hampshire, England. History Origins and 1920s Speedway arrived in Sou ...

in the

FA Women's Premier League National Division The FA Women's Premier League National Division (originally WFA National League Premier Division) was a football division in England. From 1991–92 WFA National League Premier Division, 1991 until 2009–10 FA Women's Premier League, 2010, the ...

while attending

Southampton Institute Southampton Solent University (formerly and commonly known as Solent University) is a public university based in Southampton, United Kingdom. It has approximately 10,500 students (2019/20). Its main campus is located on East Park Terrace near ...

. Her form won her an international call-up and a professional contract with

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

early in the 2002–03 season. When

won the treble that season then reverted to semi-pro status, Nwajei followed teammate

Margunn Haugenes Margunn Haugenes (née Humlestøl; born 25 January 1970) is a Norwegian footballer. She became Olympic champion in 2000. She has won silver medals with the Norway national team, in the World Cup and in the European Championships. Career Haugen ...

to Norwegian club

. She remained at

thereafter, except for a season at

Team Strømmen LSK Kvinner Fotballklubb is a Norwegian women's football club from Lillestrøm. They currently play in Toppserien, the top division of Norwegian football. The club was founded as Setskog/Høland Fotballklubb on 10 October 1989. History The cl ...

(now called LSK Kvinner) in 2009. She was Strømmen's top goalscorer with 13 goals.

International career

Nwajei was called up by

in January 2002. She made her debut on 1 March 2002 in a 3–1

Algarve Cup The Algarve Cup is an invitational tournament for national teams in women's association football hosted by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, it is one of the most prestigious and ...

defeat by

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. She has England legacy number 142. The FA announced their legacy numbers scheme to honour the 50th anniversary of England’s inaugural international.

Personal life

Nwajei learnt to play football during her childhood in

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, ...

. She graduated with a 2:1 in Business and IT from

in 2002.

References

Living people 1977 births Alumni of Southampton Solent University Fulham F.C. Women players Southampton Saints L.F.C. players English women's footballers FA Women's National League players England women's international footballers Expatriate women's footballers in Norway Nigerian emigrants to the United Kingdom English expatriate sportspeople in Norway Toppserien players Women's association football forwards {{England-footy-forward-1970s-stub