Ashleigh Plumptre is a professional footballer who was born in the United Kingdom. The Leicester native, who plays for her hometown team in the FA Women’s Super League, is one-quarter Nigerian and as so has chosen to switch allegiance to the Nigerian women’s national team. She had previously played for the England women’s youth teams before opting to represent the Super Falcons.
If her achievements are anything to go by, the Super Falcons have a budding star on their hands. Plumptre has enjoyed success everywhere she has been and would be looking to replicate this with her national team.
Biography Summary of Ashleigh Plumptre
- Full Name: Ashleigh Megan Plumptre
- Date of Birth: 8 May 1998
- Place of Birth: Leicester, England
- Zodiac Sign: Virgo
- Ethnicity: Mixed (English and Yoruba)
- Nationality: British-Nigerian
- Education: University of Southern California (USC)
- Height: 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m)
- Occupation: Professional Footballer
- Playing Position: Center-back
- Sibling: Bayleigh Bisi
- Instagram: ashleoghhplumptre
- Twitter: ashplumptre
Ashleigh Plumptre was Born to a Half-Nigerian Father and British Mother
Ashleigh Plumptre was born and raised in the city of Leicester, England. She celebrates her birthday each year on the 8th of May and was born in 1998.
The identities of Ashleigh’s parents are not known to the public, however, it has been revealed that her mother is a British woman while her father is half Nigerian. Her father is the son of a Nigerian man of Yoruba origin. Ashleigh’s paternal grandfather is said to have originally been from Lagos.
She Began Playing Football as an Infant
Ashleigh fell in love with the game of football as an infant. She is said to have started playing the sport from the time she was 4 years old when she joined Asfordby Amateurs. When she turned 8, she joined the Leicester City Center of Excellence youth program and spent about seven years at the institution.
Plumptre played for Leicester’s under-10 and under-15 teams before leaving in 2013 to join Birmingham’s under-17 team. As a 16-year-old in 2014, she briefly joined Derby County’s Center of Excellence program which was in the third tier of the FA Women’s Premier League, before signing for Notts County who played in the top flight.
Ashleigh Plumptre would go on to make her senior debut for the side at the age of 16 years 108 days, making her the youngest player to feature for Notts County.
Plumptre Moved to the United States for College
In 2016, when the time came for the budding footballer to attend university, she chose to move to the United States. She enrolled at the University of Southern California (USC) on a soccer scholarship, majoring in Human Biology.
Ashleigh Plumptre hit the ground running with the USC Trojans as they went on to win a National Championship in her freshman year. She continued to impress all through her years at USC. After her senior year in 2019, she gained All-Pacific first team and All-Pac-12 second-team honors.
Plumptre was not all about her sporting career as she also excelled in the classroom. Her academic successes earned her a few recognitions, including being named to the 2018 CoSIDA Academic All-District second team and 2019 United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America second team.
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She Played Professionally in America for One Year Before Returning to England
After graduating college, Ashleigh Plumptre got an offer to join the Los Angeles-based United Women’s Soccer League club, LA Galaxy OC. While details of her appearances are not well documented, she is credited with being part of the team that won the UWS Championship in 2019.
The following year, the footballer returned to England to rejoin her hometown team Leicester. Ashleigh has been a mainstay with her new side, playing a key role to them becoming 2020-21 FA Women’s Champions.
Ashleigh Plumptre Represented England at Youth Level Before Opting to Play for Nigeria
At the youth level, Ashleigh Plumptre predominately played as a forward or attacking midfielder. She played in these positions for the England under-15, under-17, under-19, and under-23 teams, scoring 10 goals in a total of 30 appearances for all the levels.
In 2021, the footballer who had now been converted to play the center-back position announced that she was interested in representing the country of her paternal grandfather. Ashleigh would go on to train with the Super Falcons a couple of times before FIFA cleared her to play for Nigeria.
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