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Uchenna Kanu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Uchenna Kanu
Kanu with Racing Louisville in 2024
Personal information
Full name Uchenna Grace Kanu
Date of birth (1997-06-20) 20 June 1997 (age 29)[1]
Place of birth Abia, Nigeria[2]
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[3]
Position Forward[1]
Team information
Current team
 Cruz Azul
Number 29
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2019 Southeastern Fire 78 (157)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2020 Pensacola FC 12 (17)
2020 Sevilla 4 (0)
2020–2021 Linköpings FC 42 (22)
2022–2023 UANL 30 (20)
2023–2025 Racing Louisville 35 (6)
2026– Cruz Azul 4 (0)
International career‡
2014 Nigeria U17 4 (3)
2014 Nigeria U20 3 (0)
2019– Nigeria 38 (22)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 1 February 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 5 July 2025

Uchenna Grace Kanu (listenⓘ ;born 20 June 1997) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Liga MX Femenil club Cruz Azul and Nigeria national team.

Career

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On 3 December 2021, Kanu was announced at Tigres UANL.[4] In joining Tigres, she became the first African player to play in the Liga MX Femenil.[5]

On 2 February 2023, Kanu was announced at Racing Louisville on a two-year contract with an option for an extra year. In exchange for Kanu, Racing Louisville used allocation money to pay a transfer free, and loaned Riley Parker to Tigres UANL.[6]

International career

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Kanu represented Nigeria at the 2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup and the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. She made her senior debut on 8 April 2019 in a 1–2 friendly loss to Canada.

On 24 May 2019, Kanu was called up to the Nigeria squad for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.[7]

Kanu was called up to the Nigeria squad for the 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations.[8]

On 16 June 2023, she was included in the 23-player Nigerian squad for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023.[9]

Kanu was called up to the Nigeria squad for the 2024 Summer Olympics.[10]

Personal life

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In her earlier years, at the age of 26, she shared her journey, saying, "I used to sell oranges and water on the streets of Aba. My brother and I would hawk sodas like Coca-Cola, Fanta, and Pepsi in the market. We'd cross paths, share a laugh, and then go our separate ways." Now, Kanu excels as a forward for NWSL club Racing Louisville in the United States, having risen to prominence through her representation of Nigeria in various FIFA Women's World Cups.[11][12]

Career statistics

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International goals

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No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
19 May 2019Stade Robert Champroux de Macory, Abidjan, Ivory Coast Burkina Faso1-05-12019 WAFU Zone B Women's Cup
24-1
35-1
411 May 2019Stade Robert Champroux de Macory, Abidjan, Ivory Coast Niger2-015-02019 WAFU Zone B Women's Cup
53-0
66-0
77-0
811-0
914 May 2019Stade Robert Champroux de Macory, Abidjan, Ivory Coast Mali2-02-02019 WAFU Zone B Women's Cup
1018 May 2019Stade Robert Champroux de Macory, Abidjan, Ivory Coast Ivory Coast1-11-12019 WAFU Zone B Women's Cup
1123 February 2021Arslan Zeki Demirci Sports Complex, Ilıca, Turkey Equatorial Guinea5–09–02021 Turkish Women's Cup
1220 October 2021Onikan Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria Ghana1–02–02022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification
132–0
1410 July 2022Stade Moulay Hassan, Rabat, Morocco Burundi3–04–02022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations
154–0
166 September 2022Audi Field, Washington D.C., United States United States1–11–2Friendly
1727 July 2023Lang Park, Brisbane, Australia Australia1–13–22023 FIFA Women's World Cup
1831 October 2023MKO Abiola Stadium, Abuja, Nigeria Ethiopia1–04–02024 CAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament
1930 November 2023MKO Abiola Stadium, Abuja, Nigeria Cape Verde1-05-02024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification
203-0
2128 July 2026Al Medina Stadium, Rabat, Morocco Malawi2–32−32026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations
225 August 2026Rabat Olympic Stadium, Rabat, Morocco Egypt3–16−2

References

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  1. 1 2 Uchenna Kanu at Soccerway
  2. ↑ "Uchenna Grace Kanu". Liga MX Femenil (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  3. ↑ "Uchenna Kanu – 2018 Women's Soccer – Southeastern University". Southeastern University Athletics.
  4. ↑ "Llega Uchenna Kanu a Tigres Femenil" [Uchenna Kanu joins Tigres Women's team]. www.tigres.com.mx (in Spanish). 3 December 2021.
  5. ↑ "Tigres Femenil ficha a Uchenna Kanu, la primera jugadora africana de la Liga MX" [Tigres Femenil signs Uchenna Kanu, the first African player in Liga MX.]. latinus.us (in Spanish). 3 December 2021.
  6. ↑ "Racing signs star forward Uchenna Kanu, loans Riley Parker" (Press release). Racing Louisville FC. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  7. ↑ Okeleji, Oluwashina (25 May 2019). "2019 Women's World Cup: Veteran Onome Ebi included in Nigeria squad". BBC Sport.
  8. ↑ "Morocco 2022: Waldrum picks Ebi, Oshoala, Plumptre, 22 others for Women AFCON". Nigeria Football Federation. 25 June 2022. Archived from the original on 19 July 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  9. ↑ Ryan Dabbs (14 June 2023). "Nigeria Women's World Cup 2023 squad: most recent call ups". fourfourtwo.com. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  10. ↑ "Paris 2024 Olympics: Waldrum picks Ajibade, Nnadozie, Oshoala, 15 others". thenff.com. Nigeria Football Federation. 3 July 2024.
  11. ↑ Vanguard News (28 September 2023). "Uchena kanu". TheCable.
  12. ↑ "Uchenna Kanu - Racing Louisville FC Forward".
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