Nigeria Players Abroad
Rita Chikwelu inspires Al Shabab into Saudi Women’s Cup semi final
By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde
Nigeria midfielder, Rita Chikwelu was on target as her Saudi side, Al Shabab beat Al Hilal 2-0 in the quarter final encounter of the 2023/2024 Saudi Arabian Women’s Cup on Saturday.
The former Madrid CFF player opened the scoring for her side in the encounter in the 34th minute.
Oriana Altuve doubled the lead in the 62nd minute to ensure a last-four place for Al Hilal.
With the result, Plumptre and Chikwelu will face off in the semi-final as Al Shabab and Al-Ittihad trade tackles for a place in the final.
Chikwelu previously played for Umea IK and Kristianstad both in Sweden before switching to Spain to feature for Madrid CFF and Levante Las Planas from where she completed her switch to Saudi Arabia.
She became the first Nigerian women’s footballer to move to Saudi Arabia ahead of the current season.
This was followed by the arrival of goalkeeper, Tochukwu Oluehi and defender, Ashleigh Plumptre increasing the number of Super Falcons players in Saudi Arabia to three.
