Onome Ebi: Still A Trojan at 39

With few games short of a century appearance for Nigeria and five World Cup appearances to her belt- the only African player to achieve the feat, Onome Ebi is still aiming higher as she was last week unveiled by the Spanish side, Levante Las Palnas after she agreed to a one-year deal with the club

As part of her ambition to become the first African to play in six World Cups, which is slated for Australia and New Zealand, Super Falcons Captain, Onome Ebi, was last week unveiled by the Spanish side, Levante Las Palnas, after she agreed to a one-year deal with the newly promoted club.

The seven-time African Women’s Cup of Nations participant will continue her industrious professional career journey, after putting pen to paper at the age of 39.

According to Savidnews.com, Ebi arrived at the Spanish Primera Iberdrola outfit, ending her long spell of club inactivity since she parted ways with Belarusian side Minsk in November 2020.

Announcing her signing, the Spanish club took to social media to inform fans about the acquisition of the veteran defender.

Expressing her delight, the five-time African record holder for most World Cup appearance revealed her excitement ahead of her new journey in Spain.

Before her second stint at Minsk, the veteran defender, who started her career in Nigeria with Omidiran Babes and Bayelsa Queens, won four domestic titles, having joined the former Belarusian champions from then Swedish Damallsvenskan Sunnana SK in 2013.

She also previously starred for Chinese side Henan, Ataehir Belediyespor and Düvenciler Lisesispor in Turkey as well as Swedish sides Djurgården and Pitea.

Following her arrival, she becomes the latest African on the club’s book, joining Cameroon striking legend Herriette Akaba.

Despite missing out of international scene with Nigeria since July due to injury, she will be looking to earn her debut in Spanish football in coming days after full recovery.

The Super Falcons veteran defender was last year announced as one of Nigeria’s 100 most inspiring women.

The 39-year-old defender is the only African player to have played at five World Cups and has spent 20 years in the Super Falcons.

She is few games short of a century appearances with the Falcons and has proven herself as one of the team’s most dependable defenders for many years.

“I’m thrilled to be announced as one of the honorees on Leading Ladies Africa’s #100 Most Inspiring Women in Nigeria List.

Happy international women’s day, ” she tweeted.

Ebi is part of the CAF Woman’s Team of the Decade and has won four AWCON titles with Nigeria.

She was also a member of the 2008 Super Falcons Olympics team and has represented Nigeria’s women’s team in every competition.

The former Bayelsa Queens defender has played in Sweden, Turkey and Belarus in Europe. Before the Morocco 2022 Qualifiers against Cote d’Ivoire, Ebi had assured she and her teammates will avoid another loss to Cote d’Ivoire in the race for qualification for the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations billed for Morocco.

Nine-time African champions, Nigeria, were stopped from qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics Women’s football event by the Ivorian Ladies and for Ebi, the Falcons will not allow a repeat as they eye a spot at Morocco 2022.

“I can tell you that we are still nursing the pain of missing out on the Tokyo Olympics as a result of the loss to Cote d’Ivoire in the qualifying series.

“This time, we will repay them in their coins. I want to play in the Africa Cup of Nations and the FIFA World Cup, and I know it is the same for my teammates.” Ebi had declared

“I want to thank the NFF for this kind of camping which we have not had before now with the blend of foreign and home-based players. On behalf of everyone, we want to say that we enjoyed the camp.

“With this kind of camp, Cote d’Ivoire are going to hear from us as we are not leaving anything behind. We know what’s at stake as we all want to play at the AWCON and World Cup,” the veteran defender had warned.

The Super Falcons defeated the Ivorians in a home-and-away final elimination fixture for the 12th Women AFCON slated for Morocco.

Ebi comes from humble beginnings to represent Nigeria in five World Cups. But her difficult journey to the top has made her want to help other promising young female footballers make it to the top.

Like most African superstar athletes, she came from humble beginnings. She started life in a slum community in the Nigerian capital of Lagos but has gone on to beat the odds and enjoy a thriving career in Europe and China.

“I started playing football when I was in my mom’s womb… I was so little when I started!” exclaims Ebi, who played the game just for fun as a child until her first coach discovered her talent and advised her to pursue a professional career.

Despite having a mentor by her side, Ebi found it hard to establish herself as a female footballer in a country where it isn’t considered a traditional or legitimate career path  and her coach had to convince her parents that they should allow her to play.

“Our parents don’t want women to play,” Ebi said. “Society as a whole doesn’t want women to play. People think that football is for men and women are supposed to just get married and feed the children.”

Perspectives are slowly changing but it’s still rare to see older women playing football. Every morning when Ebi goes out to train, she’s usually the only female among the men.

Not only does she have to work extra hard to gain recognition as a woman in a male-dominated sport, but she also has to defend her ability to still play at the age of 37.

But she remains very athletic and her experience and speed still outshines many of the younger players coming through.

Ebi hopes to make her sixth appearance at the next World Cup in 2023.

Meanwhile in Nigeria, she is always looking for new fways to give back through charity and community initiatives. Ebi has a foundation that is focused primarily on helping young girls who want to play football professionally and she is involved in supporting Nigeria’s struggling female football league.

Beyond her personal foundation, Ebi also donates one per cent of her income to Common Goal, an initiative that supports high-impact NGOs that use football to drive progress towards the Global Goals.

Through Common Goal, Ebi discovered that YEDI (Youth Empowerment Development Initiative) was operating in Lagos on projects she seeks to support, including raising awareness among young people on health topics, like AIDS.

Ebi agreed to join YEDI on one of their rural outreaches and when she arrived at the location and met the girls, her heart melted.

Off the field, many people may not recognise Ebi. The girls had never heard about her before but they were happy to see her, and after the outreach session Ebi gave them a group hug. She also presented them with gifts and assured them that they can achieve whatever they want to, regardless of their background.

“Being here today really reminds me of my childhood,” Ebi said as she smiled and watched the little children playing.

“It’s just like I’ve gone back to being a child again. I loved the experience I had talking to the girls, I’m glad I had the opportunity to come here today.”

Ebi may have achieved so much in her own career, but now it’s time to give back.

Her move to Spain means the much-travelled and vastly-experienced centre back joins her tenth professional club in a career that spans over two decades.

She is hoping to be one of the few players in the world to take her playing career past the age of 40.