Ashleigh Plumptre

Ashleigh Plumptre

Plumptre playing for Leicester City in 2021
Personal information
Full name	Ashleigh Megan Plumptre[1]
Date of birth	(1998-05-08) 8 May 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth	Leicester, England[2]
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Al-Ittihad
Number	22
Youth career
2002–2006	Asfordby Amateurs
2006–2013	Leicester City
2013–2014	Birmingham City
2014	Derby County
College career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2019	USC Trojans	77	(5)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2015	Notts County	4	(0)
2019	LA Galaxy OC
2020–2023	Leicester City	62	(3)
2023–	Al-Ittihad	15	(8)
International career^‡
	England U15
2013–2016	England U17
2016–2017	England U19
2016	England U23
2022–	Nigeria	18	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:08, 22 November 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20:50, 1 December 2024 (UTC)

Ashleigh Megan Plumptre (born 8 May 1998) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Saudi Premier League club Al-Ittihad and the Nigeria women's national team. Formerly an England youth international, she made her senior Nigeria debut in February 2022, and represented the nation at the 2023 World Cup.^[3][4]

Club career

Youth career

Born in Leicester, Plumptre grew up and attended primary school in Melton Mowbray.^[2] She began playing football at age 4 when she joined Asfordby Amateurs. At age 8, she joined the Leicester City Centre of Excellence, spending seven years with the club playing from under-10 to under-15 level. She left Leicester to join Birmingham City's under-17 team in 2013 where she also had the opportunity to train with the senior WSL 1 team. In 2014, Plumptre briefly joined third-tier FA Women's Premier League side Derby County's Centre of Excellence.^[5]

Notts County

Plumptre joined WSL 1 side Notts County in 2014. She made her senior debut on 24 August 2014, as a 57th minute substitute for Caitlin Friend in a 1–0 defeat to Liverpool.^[6] In doing so she became the youngest Notts County debutant at 16 years 108 days.^[5] She made her first start in a 1–1 WSL 1 draw with Manchester City on 3 September.^[7] Four days later she appeared as a substitute at the start of extra-time during a League Cup semi-final defeat to Arsenal.^[8]

On 1 August 2015, Plumptre was an unused substitute for the 2015 FA Women's Cup final, the first to be played at Wembley Stadium.^[9] She scored her first and only goal for Notts County on 30 August 2015 in a 5–0 League Cup group stage victory at home to second-tier Yeovil Town.^[10][11] Notts County also reached the League Cup final in 2015, losing to Arsenal 3–0 with Plumptre an unused substitute for the second consecutive cup final.^[12]

USC Trojans

In 2016, Plumptre moved to the United States to play college soccer at the University of Southern California. As a freshman she made 17 substitute appearances as a midfielder for the USC Trojans including in every round of the NCAA postseason. She played 27 minutes of the College Cup final as USC beat West Virginia 3–1 to claim the second national championship in program history.^[5][13] She scored her first collegiate goal on 22 October 2017, the game winner in a 2–1 victory over Washington State.^[14] After only two starts in another 17 appearances as a sophomore, she became a starter as a junior in 2018, starting in 19 of 20 appearances. In 2019, Plumptre transitioned to playing centre-back and started all 23 of USC's games during the season that included a postseason run to the NCAA Tournament quarter-finals. Her performances were recognised individually with All-Pacific first team and All-Pac-12 second team honours in 2019.^[5] Majoring in human biology, Plumptre's academic success earned her Pac-12 academic recognition in 2017 and 2018. She was also named to the 2018 CoSIDA Academic All-District second team and 2019 United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America second team.^[15]

LA Galaxy OC

In March 2019, Plumptre signed to play in the UWS with LA Galaxy OC during the college offseason.^[16] The team finished second in the West Conference behind Calgary Foothills during the regular season before winning the Championship final against the same opposition.^[17]

Leicester City

In December 2019, Plumptre elected to forgo the 2020 NWSL College Draft coming out of college despite projecting as a late-first round or early-second round pick^[18] and instead returned to England, rejoining hometown club Leicester City in the FA Women's Championship. The Foxes had reportedly also beaten FA WSL competition to her signature.^[19] She made her senior Leicester City debut on 19 January 2020, registering an assist on an Ella Rutherford goal in a 3–1 win over Crystal Palace.^[20] Plumptre's debut season with Leicester was limited to three league appearances as the season was curtailed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Leicester were awarded sixth-place on a points-per-game basis.^[21][22]

Ahead of the 2020–21 season, Leicester City Women were taken over by King Power having previously been an independent club with a formal affiliation to the Foxes.^[23] The club became fully professional for the first time in the process.^[24] On 4 April 2021, Leicester City clinched the league title with a 2–0 win over London City Lionesses, their twelfth consecutive league victory dating back to 4–1 defeat at the hands of the same opposition on 1 November 2020. The result earned Leicester their first ever promotion to the top-flight FA WSL.^[25] Despite a significant summer recruitment drive to attract WSL talent in the team's bid for promotion, Plumptre remained a key figure and played in all but one game during the title win as well as all four League Cup games as Leicester reached the knockout stage for the first time before defeat in the semi-finals.^[26]

Plumptre left Leicester City following the expiration of her contract in July 2023.^[27]

Al-Ittihad

On 13 September 2023, Plumptre signed for Saudi Premier League club Al-Ittihad.^[28]

International career

England

Plumptre has represented England at under-15, under-17, under-19^[29] and under-23 level including at two tournaments: the 2014 and 2015 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship.^[3][5] Predominantly a forward or attacking midfielder at youth level, she scored twice during a 9–0 win over Moldova in the 2015 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship qualifying round.^[30] In 2016, 17-year-old Plumptre was the youngest player named to the under-23 team for the 2016 La Manga Tournament.^[31] She made a combined 30 appearances at youth level, scoring 10 goals.^[5][32]

Nigeria

Having earlier expressed an interest in representing Nigeria at senior level in June 2021,^[33] Plumptre received her first call-up for an eight-day training camp held in Austria the following month. She qualifies to play for Nigeria through her paternal grandfather, a Yoruba from Lagos.^[34][4] She made an unofficial debut on 23 July 2021, starting in a 1–0 friendly win over Slovenian 1. SŽNL club Olimpija Ljubljana.^[35][36] In November 2021, she attended a training camp in Nigeria. In late December 2021, she was officially cleared by FIFA to represent Nigeria.^[37][38] She made her official debut on 18 February 2022, starting in a 2–0 win over Ivory Coast during the 2022 Africa Women Cup of Nations qualification.^[39]

On 16 June 2023, she was included in the 23-player Nigeria squad for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.^[40] She started all four games, helping Nigeria to keep three clean sheets as the team reached the round of 16 before being eliminated by England on penalties after a 0–0 draw.^[41]

Personal life

Plumptre's grandfather was born in Nigeria.^[42][43] She grew up supporting Leicester City and attended the parade when the men's team won the 2015–16 Premier League title.^[44]

In 2017, Plumptre was invited to the White House as part of USC's National Championship winning celebrations.^[2][45]

Career statistics

Club

As of 22 November 2024.^[3]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Notts County	2014	WSL 1	2	0	0	0	1	0	3	0
	2015		2	0	0	0	5	1	7	1
	Total		4	0	0	0	6	1	10	1
Leicester City	2019–20	Championship	3	0	2	0	0	0	5	0
	2020–21		19	1	3[a]	0	4	0	26	1
	2021–22	WSL	20	1	2[b]	0	3	1	25	2
	2022–23		20	1	1	0	3	0	24	1
	Total		62	3	8	0	10	1	80	4
Al-Ittihad Club	2023–24	Saudi Women's Premier League	12	8	2	1	0	0	14	9
	2024-25		3	0	1	1	0	0	4	1
	Total		15	8	3	2	10	1	18	10
Career total			81	11	11	1	16	2	108	15

1. Includes appearance in 2019–20 Women's FA Cup fixture that wasn't played until 2020–21 season
2. Includes appearance in 2020–21 Women's FA Cup fixture that wasn't played until 2021–22 season

International

Statistics accurate as of match played 30 November 2024.

Year	Nigeria
	Apps	Goals
2022	9	0
2023	6	0
2024	3	0
Total	18	0

Honours

Notts County

• Women's FA Cup runner-up: 2015
• FA Women's League Cup runner-up: 2015

USC Trojans

• NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship: 2016

LA Galaxy OC

• UWS Championship: 2019

Leicester City

• FA Women's Championship: 2020–21

References

1. "Ashleigh Plumptre". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
2. "Ashleigh Plumptre: Living The English Dream". www.lcfc.com. 27 September 2020.
3. Ashleigh Plumptre at Soccerway. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
4. "Plumptre gets first Nigeria call as Oparanozie returns". BBC Sport.
5. "Ashleigh Plumptre - USC Trojans". USC Trojans. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
6. "Liverpool vs. Notts County - 24 August 2014". Soccerway.
7. "Notts County vs. Manchester City - 3 September 2014". Soccerway.
8. "Arsenal vs. Notts County - 7 September 2014". Soccerway.
9. Association, The Football. "Chelsea see off County to win SSE Women's FA Cup Final". www.thefa.com.
10. Association, The Football. "Continental Cup quarter final line-up confirmed". www.thefa.com.
11. "Notts County vs. Yeovil Town - 30 August 2015". Soccerway.
12. "Arsenal vs. Notts County - 1 November 2015". Soccerway.
13. "USC women win second soccer title, beat WVU". ESPN.com. 5 December 2016.
14. "No. 6 USC Sweeps Up Another Road Win With 2-1 Decision At WSU". USC Athletics.
15. "Plumptre Garners Scholar All-America Nod". USC Athletics.
16. "LA Galaxy OC: First Round of Signings". United Women's Soccer. 20 April 2019.
17. "LA Galaxy OC win UWS Championship". SoccerToday. 23 July 2019.
18. Henderson, Chris. "Asheligh Plumptre draft prospect profile". Twitter.
19. "Leicester Sign Ashleigh Plumptre". Leicester City WFC. 20 December 2019.
20. "Championship match report: Crystal Palace 1-3 Leicester City". womenscompetitions.thefa.com.
21. "Statement: FA Barclays WSL and Women's Championship season ended". womenscompetitions.thefa.com.
22. "Coronavirus: WSL, Championship cancelled". ESPN.com. 25 May 2020.
23. "Leicester City Launches LCFC Women As The Club Commits To The Women's Game". www.lcfc.com.
24. "Leicester acquire Leicester City Women and make side fully professional". Sky Sports.
25. "Leicester promoted to WSL for first time". BBC Sport.
26. "Crystal Palace Test For LCFC Women In League Cup Quarter-Finals". www.lcfc.com.
27. "Ashleigh Plumptre Departs LCFC Women". Leicester City Football Club. 13 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
28. "Ashleigh Plumptre: Former England youth international signs for Saudi Arabian side Al Ittihad Ladies". Sky Sports. 13 September 2023.
29. Association, The Football. "Mo Marley names her first England Women's U19s squad of 2017". www.thefa.com.
30. Association, The Football. "Euro report: England Women's U17s 9-0 Moldova". www.thefa.com.
31. Association, The Football. "England Women's U23s squad named for La Manga trip". www.thefa.com.
32. "Ashleigh Plumptre - Leicester City profile". www.lcfc.com.
33. "Leicester City Women's star Plumptree keen on Nigeria". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
34. "New Super Falcons Player, Ashleigh Plumptre opens up on her Nigerian Heritage". FootyNaija.
35. "Friendly: Oparanozie On Target; Plumptre Stars In Super Falcons Win Vs Olimpija". 23 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
36. "New Super Falcons invitee delighted after attending Nigeria training camp in Austria". 27 July 2021. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
37. "Ashleigh Plumptre: England-born star reacts after getting cleared by FIFA to play for Nigeria". 30 December 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
38. "Ashleigh Plumptre: Ex-England youth completes Nigeria international switch". BBC. 3 January 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
39. "BREAKING: Ashleigh Plumptre makes international debut for Nigeria". 18 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
40. Ryan Dabbs (14 June 2023). "Nigeria Women's World Cup 2023 squad: most recent call ups". fourfourtwo.com. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
41. "England win shootout to scrape into quarter-finals". BBC Sport.
42. "LA Galaxy profile". lagalaxyoc.com. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
43. "Home Away from Home - #USCBHM: Black History Month at USC Athletics". Exposure.
44. "2018 USC interview". USC Trojans Twitter.
45. Pritchard, Jon (24 December 2017). "Ex-Pies player invited to White House after helping her university to success". NottinghamshireLive.

External links

• Ashleigh Plumptre at WorldFootball.net