Perpetua Ijeoma Nkwocha (born January 3, 1976) is a Nigerian female professional footballer, who currently plays for Swedish club, Sunnanå SK. She is also a member and the captain of the Nigeria women’s national football team. Nkwocha was voted African Women Footballer of the Year in 2004, 2005, 2010 and 2011 by CAF. With the Nigeria national team, she has participated in four CAF Women’s Championship (2002, 2004, 2006 and 2010), winning all three of them. At the 2004 Women’s African Football Championship, she scored four goals in the final against Cameroon to help her country win the title. She also set a record by scoring nine overall goals during the tournament, and was named the best player of the tournament. Nkwocha has also participated in the 2003 and 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cups and the Olympic tournaments of 2000, 2004, and 2008. In June 2008, the BBC reported that Nkwocha had announced her plans to retire in two years, and that after doing so she wants to continue to be involved in football by becoming a coach. emma.munyaneza@newtimes.co.rw
