La Liga
Esther Okoronkwo: Nigeria forward joins Gift Monday at UDG Tenerife
By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde
Nigerian international, Esther Okoronkwo becomes the first signing of Spanish Liga F side, UDG Tenerife for the 2023/2024 season.
The American-born forward signed for the Spanish top flight side until 2024 summer, joining from the newly promoted French D1 Arkema outfit, AS Saint-Étienne where she achieved French top-flight promotion this season.
Esther arrived at the club to add more bite to Tenerife’s attack for the next two seasons, teaming up with her Nigerian compatriot Gift Monday.
Her quality, power, and speed led José Herrera’s side to acquire her for the next two seasons becoming the second Nigerian player with the team.
After a successful end to the season where she has managed to be promoted to the French D1 Arkema, Okoronkwo wants to follow in the footsteps of high-flying Nigerian stars in the Spanish topflight , including Barcelona forward Asisat Oshoala who is the record African Women’s Footballer of the Year winner and Spanish topscorer in 2022.
“UDG Tenerife is an incredible team, with great footballers who can only make me a better player too. I like challenges and together with this team, we can achieve great things,” Okoronkwo told the club website.
“The Spanish league is one of the best leagues out there and I am very excited about this new journey, I am looking forward to joining the team and meeting my new teammates.”
Esther Okoronkwo joins Gift Monday at UDG Tenerife
At the international level, she made her debut in 2022 during the African Women’s Cup of Nations (WAFCON) Qualifiers and since then has become a regular in the Nigerian attack with Oshoala and Rasheedat Ajibade.
As the Super Falcons await its final squad release for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Esther will hope to make the tournament before returning to her new club for pre-season.
She joined the list of Nigerian players in the Spanish top-flight like Oshoala (FC Barcelona) Ajibade (Atletico Madrid), Monday (UDG Tenerife), Rita Chikwelu (Las Planas) and Ngozi Okobi Ekeoghene (Las Planas).
