Desire Ugochi Oparanozie, Nigeria’s Super Falcons forward, has announced her retirement from football at the age of 29.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that she made the announcement on her social media accounts on Wednesday.
“To my fans, family, and friends, thank you for the show of love and support over the years,” she wrote. “It’s time to take a bow, as I believe there’s no better time than now. I’m officially announcing my retirement from professional football for both club and country.”
Oparanozie had a successful career in the Chinese Women’s Super League and represented Nigeria’s national team on different occasions.
She started at Bayelsa Queens and later played for Delta Queens and Düvenciler Lisesispor. In 2012, she transferred to Rossiyanka in the Russian Women’s Football Championship, where she had a successful stint, playing in the UEFA Women’s Champions League and scoring a goal. After that, she moved to VfL Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga for the 2013-14 season.
Oparanozie returned to China in 2015, where she played for Tianjin Quanjian and Changchun Yatai. She also had stints in France and Turkey.
Oparanozie was included in the squad that represented Nigeria at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
