Jump to content

Deborah Abiodun

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Deborah Abiodun
Abiodun with the Washington Spirit in 2025
Personal information
Full name Deborah Ajibola Abiodun[1]
Date of birth (2003-11-02) 2 November 2003 (age 22)
Place of birth Ibadan, Nigeria
Height 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)[2]
Position Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Washington Spirit
Number 20
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2023–2024 Pittsburgh Panthers 34 (10)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Rivers Angels
2025– Washington Spirit 8 (0)
2025 → Dallas Trinity (loan) 13 (0)
International career‡
2022 Nigeria U-20 3 (0)
2022– Nigeria 7 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 1 November 2025
‡ National team caps and goals as of 26 August 2025

Deborah Ajibola Abiodun OON (born 2 November 2003), Listenⓘ popularly known as "Kante", is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for the Washington Spirit in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), and the Nigeria national team. She played collegiately for the Pittsburgh Panthers, where she was named All-ACC two times.

Early life and college career

[edit]

Abiodun was born in Ibadan, Oyo State, and attended Nasarawa State Sport Academy.[3][4] Her play with Nigeria Women Premier League club Rivers Angels caught the attention of scouts, which led to a full scholarship offer from the University of Pittsburgh.[5]

Pittsburgh Panthers

[edit]

Abiodun spent two seasons with the Pittsburgh Panthers under the coaching of Randy Waldrum, also her coach with the Nigeria national team.[6] In her freshman season, she made 22 appearances (19 starts) and scored 6 goals with 3 assists, earning Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) all-freshman and third-team All-ACC honors. In the NCAA tournament, she scored two times, in a 6–0 win against Ohio State in the first round and opening a 3–0 win against Memphis in the third round, as Pittsburgh made the national quarterfinals for the first time in program history.[4][7] In her sophomore season, she played only 12 games (9 starts) as she missed six games due to injury. She scored 4 goals and earned second-team All-ACC honors.[4][8]

Club career

[edit]

Washington Spirit

[edit]

The Washington Spirit announced on January 6, 2025, that they had signed Abiodun to a three-year contract with an option to extend for an additional year.[9] On February 7, 2025, the Spirit announced that Abiodun and teammate Tamara Bolt would be loaned for the year to USL Super League team Dallas Trinity FC for an undisclosed fee.[10] Washington recalled Abiodun from her loan on August 26, 2025.[11]

On August 31, 2025, Abiodun made her NWSL debut, participating in a 1–1 draw with Chicago Stars FC as a second-half substitute.[12] Three days later, she scored her first goal for the Spirit, converting a deflected shot in a CONCACAF W Champions Cup match against the Vancouver Rise Academy.[13]

International career

[edit]

Abiodun represented Nigeria at the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, starting three games. Nigeria won their group but lost 2–0 to the Netherlands in the quarterfinals on August 22.[2] Abiodun received her first senior call-up the following month.[14] She made her senior international debut on September 3, 2022, starting in a 4–0 friendly loss to the United States.[2]

Abiodun was selected to Nigeria's roster for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.[15] She made her tournament debut against Canada on 21 July 2023. She was handed a red card during stoppage time after a VAR review (the first red card of the tournament) as Nigeria held on to a 0–0 draw.[16]

Abiodun started all 3 games for Nigeria at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Nigeria lost each game and finished bottom of their group.[2]

Honours

[edit]

Nigeria

National Honour

Officer of the Order of the Niger

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 – Squad List: Nigeria (NGA)" (PDF). FIFA. 11 July 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d Deborah Abiodun at Soccerway Edit this at Wikidata
  3. ^ "Abiodun Deborah". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  4. ^ a b c "Deborah Abiodun". Pittsburgh Panthers. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  5. ^ Sanyaolu, Isaac (22 July 2023). "Deborah Abiodun – Nigeria | Player Profile". Futball Naija. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  6. ^ Krysinsky, John (3 July 2024). "Randy Waldrum selects Nigeria's women's squad for Olympic tournament including Pitt's Deborah Abiodun". Pittsburgh Soccer Now. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  7. ^ Krysinsky, John (24 November 2023). "Final: Florida State 3, Pitt 0 (NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament Quarterfinal)". Pittsburgh Soccer Now. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  8. ^ Krysinsky, John (6 November 2024). "Pitt's Sarah Schupansky and Deborah Abiodun named to All-ACC Women's Soccer Second Team". Pittsburgh Soccer Now. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  9. ^ "Washington Spirit Starts Promising 2025 Rookie Class with Two Signings". Washington Spirit. 6 January 2025. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  10. ^ "Washington Spirit Loans Deborah Abiodun and Tamara Bolt to Dallas Trinity FC". Washington Spirit. 7 February 2025. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  11. ^ "Washington Spirit Recalls Midfielder Deborah Abiodun from Loan with Dallas Trinity FC". WashingtonSpirit.com. Washington Spirit. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
  12. ^ Spirit, Washington (1 September 2025). "Recap: Spirit settles for 1-1 draw against Chicago Stars FC". Washington Spirit. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
  13. ^ "Recap: Spirit tops Vancouver 4-0 to remain undefeated in Concacaf W Champions Cup group play". Washington Spirit. 4 September 2025. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
  14. ^ "USWNT Returns To Action With Match Against Nigeria". United States Soccer Federation. 2 September 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  15. ^ "Nigeria Women's World Cup 2023 squad: Who's in & who's out?". Goal.com. 5 July 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  16. ^ "Nigeria's Deborah Abiodun handed first red card of FIFA Women's World Cup 2023". The Hindu. 23 July 2023.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Deborah_Abiodun&oldid=1319990537"