Three Nigerian women footballers have joined the honours list after being crowned league champions with FC Gintra in Lithuania’s top-flight women’s A Lyga this season.
Among them is defender Oluwadamilola Ronke Kuku, who featured for the full 90 minutes in a dominant Gintra performance. The duo of Bunmi David and Victoria Igbonoba also made significant contributions, coming off the bench to score for Gintra as the club secured the title.
The achievement adds to the growing footprint of Nigerian female footballers in European leagues. For Gintra, a club that has dominated Lithuanian women’s football for years, the input of these Nigerian players further underlines the globalising nature of the women’s game.
Editorial
In recent years, the migration of football talent from Nigeria to Europe has carried both promise and expectation. What is remarkable about the three Nigerians who have now lifted the Lithuanian women’s league crown is not simply the destination, but the journey and the imprint they leave.
For a club such as FC Gintra already accustomed to winning the decision to recruit from Nigeria is a reflection of ambition and a recognition of talent. The presence of Kuku, David and Igbonoba in the squad isn’t a footnote it is part of a narrative where Nigerian women remain under-valued, yet over delivering abroad.
Their achievement also prompts reflection on the pipeline. In Nigeria, talent abounds. The challenge remains structure, exposure and pathways. When three players can move, adapt, and triumph in a European league, it should force a question: how many more could have, if the context were different?
Finally, the victories achieved abroad hold weight beyond personal accolades. They become signposts for the younger generation African, female, ambitious. Gintra’s title is the destination the real journey is the signal it sends.
Did You Know?
- FC Gintra have won the Lithuanian women’s A Lyga 13 times, including every season since 2005.
- Oluwadamilola Ronke Kuku played the full match in Gintra’s 8-1 victory over Flora Tallinn, providing a key assist in that fixture.
- Bunmi David and Victoria Igbonoba both scored as substitute appearances for Gintra in major games leading to the title.
- Nigerian women’s participation in European leagues continues to rise; Gintra’s recruitment of Nigerian players is part of a wider trend documented by Sports247 Nigeria.
- The success in Lithuania elevates not just individual names but Nigeria’s reputation in women’s football abroad suggesting that African players can be integral to clubs seeking dominance, even in lesser-heralded European leagues.
