Chiamaka Okwuchukwu shrugs her shoulders and tells FIFA that she’s not sure how it happened.
That is in response to a query as to where she developed the technique, movement, and finishing that’s marked her out as one of the stars of the ongoing FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.™
“I can’t tell how things developed like this; I think it’s a gift,” she explains before offering insight into her roots back home in Nigeria.
“When I was small I didn’t have someone teaching me but I grew up loving football. Whenever I would see someone playing football I would follow them and ask to play and it all started from there.”
From those days playing at school or, when class was out, on the streets of her hometown she found her way to Port Harcourt-based domestic power Rivers Angels, the nine-time Nigeria Women’s Cup champions.
It wasn’t long before she found herself on the national team radar, quickly establishing herself as a vital part of coach Christopher Danjuma’s U-20 Women’s side.
Goals in back-to-back matches against the might of Germany and then in a 4-0 win over Venezuela, where she also recorded an assist, have certainly caught the eye.
More than that, it’s been the 19-year-old’s willingness to get on the ball, take defenders on, and always play forward, play positively, that’s marked her as a star of the future.
Asked to name her best quality, she opts for another trait and it makes her a consistent threat.
“Oh, it’s my pace,” she tells FIFA.
Ominously, for one of the breakout stars of Colombia 2024, her coach warns that she hasn’t even scratched the surface of her potential.
“She is yet to reach her best, what you’re seeing is not the best of Chiamaka yet,” Danjuma explains.
“Progressively you will see more of Chiamaka and more of what she is made of. She already has instincts in front of goal and an ability to take defenders on. What we’re looking to add is an ability to provide assists and make the right passes and runs and she’s going to get there.”
The gospel-music-admiring teenager is still in school in Nigeria but hoping that her outings in Colombia have caught the eyes of scouts and that a professional future may await. With many clubs sure to have taken notice of her dynamic contributions she has a clear destination in mind as to where she’d like to end up and that’s largely down to a player she grew up admiring.
“This tournament is a big chance for me to show what I can do and move to a bigger club in Europe; that’s what I’m praying for, to be a professional footballer and to be a role model to fans and many people.
“For me, I admire Cristiano Ronaldo so much, so of course it’s a dream to play for Manchester United. It’s one of my biggest dreams to meet [Ronaldo] one day….even just to have a good handshake.”
Culled from the FIFA Website