Onome Ebi

Onome Ebi (born 8 May 1983) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back for the Nigeria women's national team. In 2023, she became the first African footballer, male or female, to play in 6 FIFA World Cup tournaments.

Club career

She played for Bayelsa Queens FC in the Nigerian Women's Championship before moving to Piteå IF and Djurgårdens IF in Sweden's Damallsvenskan. Ebi said "I enjoyed my stay in Turkey because of the good weather. Going to Sweden was a different ball game, as the cold weather made it difficult for me to play good football. The amateur nature of the Swedish league made me launch a return to Turkey for Ataşehir Belediyespor FC in the First League."

She then played for Turkish sides Düvenciler Lisesispor and Ataşehir Belediyespor at the First League. She made her Champions League debut in August 2012 while playing for Ataşehir Belediyespor.

Ebi returned to the Swedish Damallsvenskan in 2013 to play for Sunnanå SK before going to Belarus to play for FC Minsk in the Belarusian Premier League. While there, she was a member of the team that won the Belarusian Premier League, the Belarusian Women's Cup and the Belarusian Women's Super Cup twice.

International career Ebi is a former member of the Nigerian national team, making her debut in 2003. She currently holds the record for the most caps for Nigeria, making 109 appearances for the Super Falcons.

On 6 July 2019, she became the first African Footballer to play in five Fifa World Cup Tournaments, taking part in the 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015, 2019 editions of the FIFA Women's World Cup and the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Ebi was also a member of the Nigerian squad in the 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018 editions of the African Women's Championship, winning the tournament four times 2010, 2014) 2016 and 2018 .

On 16 June 2023, she was included in the 23-player Nigerian squad for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023. By appearing as a substitute in Nigeria's 3–2 victory over Australia at 40 years and 50 days, she became the first African player, male or female, to play in six world cup tournaments.

In July 2025, she announced her retirement from professional football.

International goals No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 15 September 2015 Stade Kintélé 3, Brazzaville, Congo 1–1 1−2 Football at the 2015 African Games – Women's tournament 2. 20 January 2019 Wuhua County Olympic Sports Centre, Meizhou, China 2–1 4–1 2019 Four Nations Tournament 3. 6 March 2019 Tasos Markos Stadium, Paralimni, Cyprus 2–0 3–0 2019 Cyprus Women's Cup 4. 11 April 2023 Marden Sports Complex, Alanya, Turkey 1–0 3–0 Friendly

Honours Ataşehir Belediyespor Turkish Women's First Football League: 2011–12, 2012–13

FC Minsk Belarusian Premier League: 2014 Belarusian Women's Cup: 2014 Belarusian Women's Super Cup: 2014, 2015 Nigeria African Women's Championship: 2010, 2014, 2016, 2018 Individual NFF-Aiteo Female Player Of The Year: 2018 IFFHS CAF Women's Team of the Decade: 2011–2020 IFFHS All-time Africa Women's Dream Team: 2021