Jennifer Echegini

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Jennifer Echegini

| image =

| image_size =

| caption =

| fullname = Jennifer Onyinyechi Echegini

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|2001|03|22|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Nijmegen, Netherlands

| height = 1.70 m{{Soccerway|830191}}

| position = Midfielder

| currentclub = Paris Saint-Germain

| clubnumber = 6

| youthyears1 =

| youthclubs1 = SCE Nijmegen

| youthyears2 =

| youthclubs2 = Charlton Athletic

| youthyears3 =

| youthclubs3 = Millwall Lionesses

| youthyears4 = 2018–2019

| youthclubs4 = Arsenal

| collegeyears1 = 2019–2021

| college1 = Mississippi State Bulldogs

| collegecaps1 = 42

| collegegoals1 = 11

| collegeyears2 = 2022–2023

| college2 = Florida State Seminoles

| collegecaps2 = 44

| collegegoals2 = 27

| years1 = 2024

| clubs1 = Juventus

| caps1 = 14

| goals1 = 10

| years2 = 2024–

| clubs2 = Paris Saint-Germain

| caps2 = 15

| goals2 = 6

| nationalyears1 = 2022–

| nationalteam1 = Nigeria

| nationalcaps1 = 11

| nationalgoals1 = 2

| club-update = 23 April 2025

| nationalteam-update = 31 July 2024

}}

Jennifer Onyinyechi Echegini (born 22 March 2001) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Première Ligue club Paris Saint-Germain and the Nigeria national team.

Echegini played collegiately for the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Florida State Seminoles. In 2023, she led the Seminoles to the NCAA championship and won the Hermann Trophy as the best player in college soccer. She turned professional with Juventus before moving to Paris Saint-Germain.

Early life and college career

Echegini was born in the Netherlands to Nigerian parents. Her family moved to England when she was 11.{{cite web|title=Echegini gelijk beslissend voor Juventus: 'Wilde ooit voor Nederland spelen'|url=https://nos.nl/artikel/2505767-echegini-gelijk-beslissend-voor-juventus-wilde-ooit-voor-nederland-spelen|language=nl|date=21 January 2024|access-date=10 July 2024}} She spent her youth career at SCE Nijmegen, Charlton Athletic, Millwall and Arsenal.

=Mississippi State Bulldogs=

Echegini was recruited by incoming head coach James Armstrong to play collegiately for the Bulldogs soccer team at Mississippi State University in 2019.{{cite news|url=https://www.soccerwire.com/news/mississippi-state-signs-6-more-players-completing-2019-recruiting-class/|title=Mississippi State signs 6 more players, completing 2019 recruiting class|date=2019-07-24|website=SoccerWire|access-date=2025-01-18}} She spent three seasons there, scoring 11 goals with 6 assists in 42 games.{{cite news|url=https://hailstate.com/sports/womens-soccer/roster/onyi-echegini/6559|title=Onyi Echegini|publisher=Mississippi State Bulldogs|access-date=2025-01-18}} In 2022, she transferred to Florida State University to play for the Seminoles soccer team under Brian Pensky, who had tried to recruit her previously.{{cite news|url=https://www.tallahassee.com/story/sports/college/fsu/2024/01/26/fsu-soccers-onyi-echegini-details-thrilling-career-from-mississippi-state-to-juventus-f-c/72141970007/|title='This is everything I've wanted': FSU soccer's Onyi Echegini on winning MAC Hermann Trophy, signing with Juventus F.C.|last=Williams|first=Jack|date=2024-01-26|website=Tallahassee Democrat|access-date=2025-01-18}} In her first season for the defending national champions, she had 11 goals and 6 assists in 21 games and earned second-team All-ACC honors. She had two goals and three assists during the NCAA tournament, including a goal and an assist in their 3–2 loss to North Carolina in the semifinals.

= Florida State Seminoles =

In the 2023 season, Echegini led the ACC with 16 goals and had 5 assists in 23 games for the Seminoles. She was the MVP of the ACC tournament, bracing in a 2–1 final victory over Clemson. She recorded three goals and two assists during the NCAA tournament, including one of each in a 5–1 final victory against Stanford, concluding Florida State's undefeated season. She was highly decorated for the season, receiving first-team All-ACC and first-team All-American honors, the ACC Offensive Player of the Year, the Honda Sports Award, and the Hermann Trophy, which is given to the most outstanding college soccer player of the season.{{Cite web |title=Onyi Echegini - 2023-24 - Women's Soccer |url=https://seminoles.com/sports/womens-soccer/roster/onyi-echegini/1879 |access-date=2024-01-04 |publisher=Florida State Seminoles |language=en}}

Club career

=Juventus=

On 4 January 2024, Echegini signed with Italian club Juventus on a multi-year contract through June 2026.{{Cite web|title=JOE ECHEGINI JOINS JUVENTUS! - Juventus|url=https://www.juventus.com/en/news/articles/joe-echegini-joins-juventus|date=4 January 2024|access-date=4 January 2024|website=Juventus.com}} She scored 10 goals from 16 matches before leaving the club in July 2024.{{cite web|title=JOE ECHEGINI LEAVES JUVENTUS|url=https://www.juventus.com/en/news/articles/joe-echegini-leaves-juventus|date=10 July 2024|access-date=10 July 2024}}

=Paris Saint-Germain=

On 10 July 2024, Echegini joined French club Paris Saint-Germain on a three-year contract until June 2027.{{cite web|title=Jennifer Echegini is a Parisienne|url=https://en.psg.fr/teams/womens-team/content/jennifer-echegini-is-a-parisienne-psg-feminines-women-mercato-20242025|date=10 July 2024|access-date=10 July 2024}}{{cite web|title=Transfer: Echegini completes move to PSG|url=https://dailypost.ng/2024/07/10/transfer-echegini-completes-move-to-psg/|date=10 July 2024|access-date=10 July 2024}}

International career

Echegini scored her first international goal for Nigeria on 11 April 2023 in a 3–0 win against New Zealand.{{cite web|title=Randy Waldrum praise Jennifer Echegini after scoring maiden Super Falcons goal|url=https://www.brila.net/randy-waldrum-praise-jennifer-echegini-after-scoring-maiden-super-falcons-goal/|date=12 April 2023|access-date=10 July 2024}}

On 16 June 2023, Echegini was called up to the Nigeria squad for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.{{cite news|url=https://www.premiumtimesng.com/sports/football/604875-super-falcons-coach-unveils-world-cup-squad.html|title=Super Falcons coach unveils World Cup squad|first=Tunde|last=Eludini|newspaper=Premium Times|date=16 June 2023|access-date=16 June 2023|archive-date=16 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230616144348/https://www.premiumtimesng.com/sports/football/604875-super-falcons-coach-unveils-world-cup-squad.html|url-status=live}} She was a member of the Nigerian Super Falcons squad that reached the round of 16 in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Echegini was called up to the Nigeria squad for the 2024 Summer Olympics.{{cite web|url=https://thenff.com/paris-2024-olympics-waldrum-picks-ajibade-nnadozie-oshoala-15-others/|title=Paris 2024 Olympics: Waldrum picks Ajibade, Nnadozie, Oshoala, 15 others|publisher=Nigeria Football Federation|website=thenff.com|date=3 July 2024}}

Career statistics

=International=

National team	Year	Apps
class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" \|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year
rowspan="3"\|Nigeria \|2022	2	0
2023	7	1
2024	2	1
colspan="2"\|Total\|\|11\|\|2

:Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Echegini goal.

class="wikitable sortable" \|+ List of international goals scored by Jennifer Echegini
scope="col"\|No. !scope="col"\|Date !scope="col"\|Venue !scope="col"\|Opponent !scope="col"\|Score !scope="col"\|Result !scope="col"\|Competition
align="center"\|1	11 April 2023	Marden Sports Complex, Alanya, Turkey	{{fbw\|NZL}}	align="center"\|2–0	align="center"\|3–0	Friendly
style="text-align:center"\|2 \|31 July 2024 \|Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes, France \|{{fbw\|JPN}} \|style="text-align:center"\|1–2 \|style="text-align:center"\|1–3 \|2024 Summer Olympics

class="wikitable sortable"

|+ List of international goals scored by Jennifer Echegini

scope="col"|No.

!scope="col"|Date

!scope="col"|Venue

!scope="col"|Opponent

!scope="col"|Score

!scope="col"|Result

!scope="col"|Competition

align="center"|1

11 April 2023

Marden Sports Complex, Alanya, Turkey