Nadia Nadim
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12 September 2021
Nadia Nadim (Pashto: نادیه ندیم; born 2 January 1988) is a footballer and physician who plays as a striker for NWSL club Racing Louisville FC. Born in Afghanistan, she represents the Denmark national team at international level.
Nadim is considered the most influential and greatest Afghan female footballer of all time, particularly because she won the French league *le in the 2020–21 season with Paris Saint-Germain.
Contents
- 1 Early life and career
- 2 Club career
- 2.1 Early career
- 2.2 Sky Blue FC
- 2.3 Portland Thorns FC
- 2.4 Manchester City
- 2.5 Paris Saint-Germain
- 2.6 Racing Louisville FC
- 3 International career
- 4 Style of play
- 5 Outside football
- 5.1 Criticism of sportswashing of Qatar
- 5.2 Personal life and medical career
- 5.3 Endor*ts
- 6 Career statistics
- 7 Honours
- 7.1 Awards and recognition
- 8 References
- 9 External links
Early life and career
Nadia was born in Herat and raised in Afghanistan until her father, an Afghan National Army (ANA) general, was executed by the Taliban in 2000. Her family then fled to Denmark, where she began her football career, playing for B52 Aalborg and Team Viborg.
Club career
Early career
After her family fled to Denmark, she began her football career, playing for B52 Aalborg, Team Viborg from 2005 to 2006 and IK Skovbakken from 2006 to 2012, before moving to Fortuna Hjørring in 2012. She made her Champions League debut in September the same year, scoring both goals in a 2–1 win over Scottish Champions Glasgow City.
Nadim celebrates a goal with Klingenberg and Lindsey HoranSky Blue FC
Nadim joined NWSL club Sky Blue FC near the end of the 2014 NWSL season. Playing in six games, she scored seven goals and registered three *ists. She was named player of the week on 19 August and player of the month for the NWSL on 14 August. On 16 February 2015, Sky Blue announced that Nadim had been signed to play for Sky Blue in the 2015 season as well.
Portland Thorns FC
On 14 January 2016, Nadim was traded to Portland Thorns FC. Playing as a striker, she finished the 2016 season as the team's top scorer with nine goals in 20 games as the team won the 2016 NWSL Shield. In the 2017 season, she helped the team to a second-place finish in the league and victory in the NWSL Championship game.
Manchester City
On 28 September 2017, Nadim signed for FA Women's Super League side Manchester City for the 2018 season. She joined the club in January 2018, and made her debut with Manchester City on 7 January 2018 in a 5–2 win over Reading. After six minutes on the ground she scored her first goal for the team, and 26 minutes later she made an *ist when Manchester City scored their second goal in the match. In her second match for the team she scored the winning goal in a 1–0 victory over Chelsea in the semifinale of the Continental Tyres Cup.
On 26 July 2018, while on the US tour with Manchester City, the BBC reported that Nadim had requested a transfer out of the club, stating that she had never felt at home there and wanted to leave. On 19 December 2018, Manchester City announced that Nadim would be departing the club and her contract would be terminated on 1 January 2019, allowing her to sign with another club.
Paris Saint-Germain
On 3 January 2019, Nadim signed for Paris Saint-Germain.
On 9 July 2019, Nadim extended her contract for Paris Saint-Germain. after a successful first season. She was later rewarded with the captain's armband and named the team's vice captain for the 2019–20 season. She scored 13 goals and made 13 *ists in 16 league and cup games.
Racing Louisville FC
On 9 June 2021, Nadim signed with Racing Louisville FC, returning to the NWSL four years after leaving Portland Thorns FC for Manchester City.
In September 2021, with the NWSL reeling from abuse scandals. she accused NJ/NY Gotham FC management of forging her signature on a contract extension so they could trade her rights to Portland in January 2016. She also accused league staffers of pressuring her to have a surgery for her season-ending ACL in the United States rather than abroad, threatening that "if something went wrong with the surgery outside of US they could consider taking actions against me."
International career
Nadim (left) playing for Denmark in 2017Under Danish nationality law Nadim could not apply for citizenship until turning 18 years old in 2006. When citizenship was eventually granted in 2008, FIFA eligibility rules blocked Nadim from playing for Denmark, because she had not yet been resident for the requisite five years after turning 18. A subsequent challenge from the Danish Football *ociation (DBU) led to FIFA's legal department making an exception to the rules in Nadim's case.
Nadim immediately became a member of the Denmark national team, making her debut in the 2009 Algarve Cup in a 2–0 defeat by the United States. In doing so, she became the first naturalised Dane to represent a Denmark senior national football team. She participated in all three of Denmark's games at UEFA Women's Euro 2009 in Finland.
She was named in national coach Kenneth Heiner-Møller's Denmark squad for UEFA Women's Euro 2013. In Denmark's opening group match against hosts Sweden Nadim featured as a subs*ute in an eventful 1–1 draw.
In the UEFA Women's Euro 2017 tournament, she was instrumental in Denmark's advancement, scoring the tying goal in Denmark's eventual 2–1 win over favorites Germany in the knockout stages, and scoring a go-ahead goal in the final, which Denmark ultimately lost to host Netherlands 4–2.
On 27 October 2020, Denmark had to win away against Italy to qualify for the UEFA Women's Euro 2022, and Nadim was crowned player of the match after scoring two crucial goals in Denmark's 3–1 win over Italy in Florence. The two goals secured Denmark's spot in the upcoming Euros.
Style of play
Nadim is recognized for her energetic and determined style of play. She is successful from the penalty spot, having converted all but one of her penalties in the NWSL (and with the one miss being a save by the goalkeeper and immediately scored by Nadim on the rebound) and both of her attempts at Euro 2017.
Outside football
Criticism of sportswashing of Qatar
In December 2021, Nadim received criticism in the media for describing Qatar as a nation that helps people in need. Her positive description of the desert state is conflicting with the general consensus in the Danish population and the opinion formulated by the Danish FA on the oppression of human rights and poor conditions for migrant workers in Qatar. Subsequently, Nadim denied having received money for her performance in Qatar, which turned out not to be true when Danish newspaper B.T. found out that she had received payment for attending the education summit in the country.
As a consequence of her role as an amb*ador for World Cup in Qatar, Danish Refugee Council removed Nadim from her role as a goodwill amb*ador. Nadim stated on her Twitter that her collaboration with the Danish Refugee Council had been inactive since the beginning of 2019. However, Danish newspaper, BT, proved this statement inaccurate.
Personal life and medical career
Nadim attended medical school at Aarhus University (remotely during the football season) with the aim of becoming a surgeon when her playing days are over. In 2020, she was *isting in surgery. She qualified as a doctor in January 2022.
Nadim is Muslim, and speaks nine languages.
Afghan singer Aryana Sayeed is her aunt.
In 2018, Forbes ranked her Number 20 in their "Most Powerful Women in International Sports" list.
Endor*ts
Nadia signed a representation contract with Nike in 2017, making her the first ever Danish female football player to be represented by Nike. Nike has used Nadia in many of their branches on top of doing work for the football department. She has also done commercials for Air Jordan as well as Nike's collaborations with Martine Rose. Besides her work with Nike, Nadia is also known for her work with Visa and Hugo Boss.
In 2016, Danish TV station DR released a four-episode long do*entary about Nadia that followed her from Denmark to the United States, do*enting her player development with the Portland Thorns.
In 2018, Danish publisher JP/Politiken published Nadia Nadim's autobiography called "Min Historie" which translates to "My Story". The book got nominated for Sports book of the year. The book was released in French on 26 May 2021, through the French publisher Hachette Book Group.
Career statistics
Honours
Portland Thorns FC
- NWSL Shield: 2016
- NWSL Playoffs: 2017
Manchester City
- FA WSL runners-up: 2017–18
Paris Saint-Germain
- Division 1 Féminine: 2020–21
Denmark
- UEFA Women's Euro runners-up: 2017
Individual
- Portland Thorns 2016 top goalscorer
Awards and recognition
In July 2019, Nadia Nadim was named UNESCO Champion for Girls and Women's Education. She received this recognition for her role in promoting sport and gender equality, her contribution to the Organization's educational action prioritizing young people and advocacy for girls and women's education at an international scale, among others.
References
External links
- Nadia Nadim – UEFA compe*ion record (archive)
- Nadia Nadim at the Danish Football *ociation (in Danish)
- Profile at Sky Blue FC
- Profile at Portland Thorns FC