Ngozi Okobi-Okeoghene: Nigeria midfielder condemns social media abuse of married female footballers

Nigeria international Ngozi Okobi-Okeoghene says married women and mothers playing football are treated “like trash” on social media and urged Nigerians to stop viewing family life as the end of a woman’s career.

The Super Falcons midfielder, who returned to professional football just five months after giving birth, has criticised the mentality that marriage and motherhood should bring a halt to a woman’s ambitions.

Okobi-Okeoghene believes many female athletes are written off the moment they start families, and says the hostility and judgment they face online is often more bruising than anything they experience on the pitch.

“People see a woman get married or have a child and they automatically think her career is over,” she said, explaining that too many comments suggest a mother cannot still perform at elite level.

‘They see women like trash’

Okobi-Okeoghene described the online reaction to female footballers’ private lives as both cruel and dismissive, arguing that critics show little understanding of what it takes to compete professionally while raising a family.

She said that, for many women in sport, social media has become a hostile space where personal choices are policed and achievements are ignored.

According to the midfielder, marriage and motherhood are frequently used as reasons to question a player’s commitment, fitness or value to a team, rather than as evidence of resilience and responsibility.

Okobi-Okeoghene insists that this attitude is deeply unfair, and that women deserve support rather than suspicion when they decide to combine football with family life.

Motherhood ‘not a limitation’

The former Super Falcons star stressed that having children must not be seen as a barrier to excellence, arguing that women are capable of delivering top performances regardless of how many children they have.

She said the assumption that a mother cannot compete at the highest level ignores the reality of modern athletes, who routinely return to elite sport after childbirth.

Okobi-Okeoghene pointed to her own career as proof that it is possible to come back strongly after pregnancy, but emphasised that not all women should feel pressured to rush their return.

Her story, she explained, is about possibility rather than expectation, and she wants Nigerians to understand that motherhood and ambition can exist side by side.

Comeback after childbirth

Okobi-Okeoghene revealed that she resumed football training only five months after giving birth, describing the process as one of the hardest physical and mental tests of her career.

The midfielder said the journey back to full fitness was “anything but easy”, highlighting the strain of regaining elite conditioning while adapting to life as a new mother.

She explained that returning to professional sport so soon after childbirth required intense discipline and emotional strength, as well as careful management of her body.

Her successful comeback, she believes, shows that female footballers should not be pushed out of the game simply because they choose to start a family.

Support system behind her return

Okobi-Okeoghene credited a strong support network with making her return possible, praising her husband, relatives and team-mates for backing her when she felt drained or overwhelmed.

She said their constant encouragement helped her through moments of self-doubt and exhaustion, turning what could have been a breaking point into a new chapter in her career.

However, she was clear that, despite her passion for football, her child remains her priority and she would not choose the sport ahead of her responsibilities as a mother.

Okobi-Okeoghene explained that this balance – placing family first while still pursuing professional goals – is exactly what many critics fail to recognise when they judge female players online.

Call for change in attitudes

The midfielder has called on Nigerians to become a source of motivation rather than discouragement for women who marry or have children during their playing careers.

She wants society to show female athletes that it is possible to succeed on the pitch without giving up on family life, instead of forcing them to choose between the two.

Okobi-Okeoghene also rejected the idea that being a professional footballer prevents her from embracing other important roles in life, saying that a woman’s identity does not begin and end with her sport.

Her message, she believes, extends beyond football, challenging long-held assumptions about women, work and motherhood.

By sharing how she went from childbirth to professional football in just five months, Ngozi Okobi-Okeoghene hopes to demonstrate that marriage and motherhood do not mark the end of success – and that female footballers deserve far more respect than they currently receive.