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#FIFAWWC: Meet Onome Ebi, the First African Player to Compete in 6 World Cups
Super Falcons defensive stalwart Onome Ebi is popularly and affectionately known as “Mama” by her teammates in the Super Falcons World Cup camp.
The Super Falcons captain earned the moniker by being a mainstay in the team’s setup for more than 20 years. Her trophy-laden career has seen her feature in six world cups, the latest one in New Zealand and Australia, confirming her status as the only African player (male or female) to have featured in six world cups.
On August 31, 2023, the Super Falcons team and the legendary number 5 secured a spot in the knockout stage of the 2023 World Cup after playing a goalless draw against Ireland. The feat marked the third time the Super Falcons have gone this far in the competition.
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Below are some of the impressive things to know about Onome Ebi.
- Ebi Onome has now played at six Women’s World Cups.
- She is the only African player to feature at more than four.
- She has spent more than half her life as a Nigerian international.
- Onome Ebi made her World Cup debut as a sub on September 20, 2003, in a 3-0 defeat by Korea DPR.
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- She started her career with the defunct Nigerian women’s football team, the Omidiran Babes.
- Onome captained Turkish club Atasehir to the league title in 2012. While at the club, Ebi was often used as a forward. She racked up 27 goals in the club’s 2013 campaign.
- She’s played in the Belarusian League, the Chinese League, the Swedish Damallsvenskan, and the Spanish League.
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- Ebi has also been to seven Africa Women’s Cup of Nations, winning four.
- The 40-year-old defender is currently plying her trade for the Abia Angels.
- Onome is the joint second-best overall World Cup appearance maker alongside Japan’s Homare Sawa, Brazil’s Marta, and Canada’s Christine Sinclair. Brazil’s Fomiga holds the record, as she’s appearing in her seventh World Cup tournament.
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- She made history as the first African woman to feature in six World Cups when she was brought on in the later stages of the Super Falcon’s impressive victory over Australia on July 27, 2023.
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Photo Credit: Onome Ebi
