Super Falcons defender, Ashleigh Plumptre, has revealed that people are questioning her heritage, adding that she can’t blame them.
Plumptre, who said she grew up British, said that she is proud of her Nigerian heritage.
The Leicester City star said she got a “great sense of pride” when she first travelled to Nigeria to meet up with her new international teammates.
Recall that the 23-year-old was cleared by FIFA to represent Nigeria in January.
She made her debut for the Super Falcons against Ivory Coast last week Friday.
“It’s always been an assumption that I’m white,” Plumptre told BBC East Midlands Today.
“I get a lot of messages and people question my heritage a lot, but I can’t necessarily blame them. It comes down to education.
“What people see is what they think. People don’t want to have the conversation or want to consider anything deeper than what they see.
“It’s putting a marker down. It’s not just what you predict a Nigerian to be. For me, I know the importance of representing something bigger than me.
“I’m representing the mixed-race community and especially for the younger ones coming through. You don’t have to look a certain way or be told you are a certain way, you can feel it and you can be it.”
