Ifeoma Dieke facts for kids
Dieke with Scotland in September 2014
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 25 February 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Amherst, Massachusetts, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 5 in | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Apollon Limassol | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2003 | Atlanta Beat | 13 | (1) |
| 2007 | QBIK | ||
| 2008 | Kristianstads DFF | 18 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Chicago Red Stars | 19 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | Boston Breakers | 22 | (1) |
| 2011 | → Apollon Limassol (loan) | ||
| 2012–2017 | Vittsjö GIK | 94 | (0) |
| 2018 | IFK Kalmar | 14 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Apollon Limassol | 9 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2004–2017 | Scotland | 123 | (0) |
| 2012 | Great Britain | 3 | (0) |
† Appearances (Goals). |
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Ifeoma Nnenna Dieke (born 25 February 1981) is a talented Scottish footballer. She was born in the United States but moved to Cumbernauld, Scotland, when she was three years old. Ifeoma played as a defender for many professional clubs. These clubs were in countries like Sweden, the United States, and Cyprus.
Ifeoma is known for playing a lot of games for the Scotland women's national football team. Between 2004 and 2017, she played 123 matches for her country. In football, playing a match for your country is called earning a "cap." Ifeoma made history as the first black woman to be a captain for Scotland. She also played for the Great Britain women's Olympic football team at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. She and another Scottish player, Kim Little, were the only non-English players on that team.
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Playing Football
Ifeoma Dieke started playing football when she was just eight years old. She played for her primary school team, St Mary's. Later, she joined local clubs called Cumbernauld Cosmos and Cumbernauld Ladies.
Club Career Highlights
In 1999, Ifeoma received a special scholarship to attend Florida International University in the United States. She played for their women's soccer team, the FIU Golden Panthers. After graduating in 2003, she joined a professional team called Atlanta Beat. She played 13 games and scored one goal for them.
After the league she played in stopped, Ifeoma moved to Sweden. She played for clubs like QBIK in 2007 and Kristianstads DFF in 2008. She also played in Cyprus for a short time.
In 2009, Ifeoma joined the Chicago Red Stars in the United States. She played 14 games in her first season. Later, she moved to the Boston Breakers in 2010. She played 13 games for them and even scored a goal against her old team, Chicago.
In 2011, Ifeoma played for the Cypriot club Apollon Limassol for a short time. When her league in the US stopped again, she went back to Sweden. She signed with Vittsjö GIK in 2012 and stayed there for six seasons. Even after a serious injury in 2013, Vittsjö GIK gave her a new contract.
In 2018, Ifeoma looked for a new challenge and joined IFK Kalmar. However, she wasn't happy with the team's performance. She left Kalmar and returned to Apollon in Cyprus in September 2018.
International Football for Scotland
Ifeoma could have played for Scotland, the United States, or Nigeria. She chose Scotland and played her first game in January 2004 against Greece. By May 2009, she had earned her 50th cap for Scotland.
In 2008, Ifeoma accidentally scored an "own goal" in a big game against Russia. This meant Scotland was knocked out of a tournament. She was very disappointed about it.
In 2012, Ifeoma was chosen to play for the Great Britain women's Olympic football team at the London Olympics. She was one of only two Scottish players on the team. Sadly, she got a serious knee injury during the second game. This injury meant she couldn't play for Scotland for almost two years.
After recovering, Ifeoma returned to the Scotland team in 2014. In October of that year, she earned her 100th cap in a game against the Netherlands. This was a huge achievement for her.
Ifeoma continued to play for Scotland in the qualifying games for UEFA Women's Euro 2017. In 2015, she received a special award for playing 100 or more games for her country.
Scotland finally qualified for their first major tournament at UEFA Women's Euro 2017. After this tournament, Ifeoma, who was 36, decided to retire from international football. She played in all three of Scotland's games before confirming her retirement.
Coaching Career
After her playing career, Ifeoma Dieke started coaching young soccer players in the United States. She coached youth club teams from 2000 to 2007. In 2019, she became the head coach for the varsity team at Palmer Trinity School.
From 2020 to 2022, Ifeoma coached at a youth club called FC Prime in Florida. She spoke out about challenges she faced, suggesting that women were not always given leadership roles in some parts of youth soccer.
In April 2022, Ifeoma was named the top girls' soccer coach in Miami-Dade County for certain school classes. This was because she led the Palmer Trinity School Falcons to important playoff wins. In May 2022, she was also announced as a coach for a U19 girls' team at Miami Rush Kendall SC.
Playing Style
People who watched Ifeoma play often praised her skills. Hope Powell, who coached the Great Britain team, said Ifeoma was a "great defender." She was especially good at defending against one player. A sports journalist described Ifeoma as a "quick and tactically astute central defender." This means she was fast and smart in how she played in the middle of the defense.
Personal Life
Ifeoma Dieke is often called "Ife" or "Iffy" by her friends and teammates. She can also speak the Igbo language, which is spoken in Nigeria.
