Hat-trick On Debut, England-Born Nigerian Defender Ashleigh Plumptre Making Waves In Saudi Arabia

How often do you see a defender scoring a hat-trick? Ashleigh Plumptre has the flex of doing it so on her debut. Just a month after signing for Saudi Arabian giants Al-Ittihad in the summer of 2023, Plumptre announced her arrival by scoring all three goals in a resounding 3-0 victory over Eastern Flames in their season opener. Having recently signed a contract extension at the club, the English-born Nigerian center-back spoke to NDTV on the sidelines of the Saudi Arabian women's national team's friendly match against Indonesia in Jeddah.

Plumptre reflected on her early days, playing in the US after turning pro, returning home to play for his hometown club Leicester City, the overall experience of playing in a World Cup, and pledging to do her utmost for the betterment of women's football in the Middle-East.

"I started playing when I was four years old. I always grew up playing with girls. I know a lot of players of my age didn't play with girls, they played with boys. I played Sunday league kind of until i was 8; then joined an academy. After joining pro league at 16 in England, I went to play in the US. Then i came back to play for my hometown club Leicester (City) next year," Plumptre told NDTV.

"So, the World Cup experience in general was a huge experience for me. I never thought i would be playing in a World Cup, and especially to represent Nigeria, so that was a real privilege; and then being able to play against England, obviously like you mentioned that it's the country of my birth. So, it felt a lot more special because I knew a lot of the girls in the team. I played with them or against them or I grew up playing against them. Honestly, that was probably one of my favourite games that I ever played my whole life.