Former Super Falcons Captain, Desire Ugochi Oparanozie has made true the saying that there is a time for everything. A time to come, and a time to go, as she sensationally announced her retirement from professional football. 

The bow out of the game that have brought her from obscurity to prominence. She said this is the best time for her to quit the game both from the club and national team football.

Oparanozie made this surprise announcement on her officiall twitter (now X) handle trending on the social media Wednesday.

Her word on her twitter handle read in parts: “To my fans, family, and friends, thank you for the show of love and support over the years. It’s time to take a bow, as I believe there’s no better time than now. I’m officially announcing my retirement from professional football for both club and country”.

The Super Falcons forward who until this announcement plays as a for the Chinese Wuhan Jianghan University in the Chinese League, was part of the Super Falcons team to the just concluded FIFA Women’s World Cup final in Australia and New Zealand. She lost Nigeria’s first penalty kick in the 4-2 defeat in the Round of 16 clash against England.

Oparanozie 29, who played for local clubs like Delta Queens FC of Asaba, is a veteran of Women’s African Cup of Nations (WAFCON) FIFA Women’s World Cup finals, started as a junior international and scored 2 goals in the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup and 3 goals in the 2012 tournament respectively.

The Imo state-born footballer has been a regular member of the Nigerian senior national team since 2010, participating in the FIFA Women’s World Cup final in 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023.

In April 2019, she was named the new captain of Nigeria by coach Thomas Dennerby who praised Oparanozie for her ‘discipline and good character’.

Following the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, in her role as captain, she led calls for equal pay in Nigerian football citing disparity with the bonuses received by the team’s male counterparts.

Oparanozie however suffered the consequences of leading what was termed a “rebellion” against the football house by the players and was subsequently not invited to the camp until last year when she was recalled and she made the team to Australia and New Zealand. 
She has also been part of the Nigerian squads of WAFCON in 2010, 2014, 2016 and 2018, winning all four tournaments. She scored crucial goals in both the 2014 and 2016 finals.

In all, Oparanozie scored 22 goals in 35 games for Nigeria.