Nadia Nadim

Nadia Nadim

Nadia Nadim in August 2017
Personal information
Full name	Nadia Nadim
Date of birth	(1988-01-02) 2 January 1988 (age 33)[1]
Place of birth	Herat, Afghanistan
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Club information
Current team	Racing Louisville FC
Number	10
Youth career
	Gug Boldklub
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
	B52 Aalborg
2005–2006	Team Viborg
2006–2012	IK Skovbakken	91	(88)
2012–2015	Fortuna Hjørring	43	(31)
2014–2015	Sky Blue FC	24	(13)
2015–2016	→ Fortuna Hjørring (loan)	15	(12)
2016–2017	Portland Thorns FC	37	(19)
2018	Manchester City	15	(6)
2019–2021	Paris Saint-Germain	27	(18)
2021–	Racing Louisville FC
National team‡
2009–	Denmark	98	(38)
show Honours Representing  Denmark Runner-up UEFA Women's Championship 2017
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22 February 2020 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 April 2021

Nadia Nadim (born 2 January 1988) is an Afghan-Danish football player who plays as a striker for NWSL club Racing Louisville FC as well as for the Danish national team. Nadim is considered the most influential and greatest Afghan female football player of all time, particularly because she won the French league title in the 2020-21 season with Paris Saint-Germain.^[2]

Early life and career[]

Nadim was born in Herat and raised in Afghanistan until her father, an Afghan National Army (ANA) general, was executed by the Taliban in 2000.^[1][3] Her family then fled to Denmark, where she began her football career, playing for B52 Aalborg and Team Viborg.^[4][5][6]

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.^[7] She made her Champions League debut in September the same year, scoring both goals in a 2–1 win over Scottish Champions Glasgow City.^[8]

Sky Blue FC[]

Nadim joined NWSL club Sky Blue FC near the end of the 2014 NWSL season. Playing in 6 games, she scored 7 goals and registered 3 assists. 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.^[9]

Portland Thorns FC[]

On 14 January 2016, Nadim was traded to Portland Thorns FC.^[10] Playing as a striker, she finished the 2016 season as the team's top scorer with 9 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^[11] 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,^[12] and made her debut with Manchester City on 7 January 2018 in a 5–2 win over Reading. After six minutes on the pitch she scored her first goal for the team, and 26 minutes later she made an assist when Manchester City scored their second goal in the match.^[13] 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.^[14]

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.^[15] 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.^[16]

Paris Saint-Germain[]

On 3 January 2019, Nadim signed for Paris Saint-Germain.^[2]

On 9 July 2019, Nadim extended her contract for Paris Saint-Germain.^[17] after a successful first season. Nadia was later rewarded with the captain's armband and named the team's vice captain for the 2019–20 season. Nadia has so far this season scored 13 goals and made 13 assists in 16 league and cup games.

Racing Louisville FC[]

On 9 June 2021, Nadim signed with Racing Louisville FC,^[18] returning to the NWSL four years after leaving Portland Thorns FC for Manchester City.

Style of play[]

Nadim is recognized for her energetic and determined style of play.^[19] 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 block by the goalkeeper and immediately scored by Nadim) and both of her attempts at Euro 2017.^[20]

International career[]

Under 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.^[21] A subsequent challenge from the Danish Football Association (DBU) led to FIFA's legal department making an exception to the rules in Nadim's case.^[22]

Nadim immediately became a member of the Denmark national team, making her debut in the 2009 Algarve Cup in a 0–2 defeat by the United States.^[23][24] In doing so, she became the first naturalised Dane to represent a Denmark senior national football team.^[25] 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.^[26] In Denmark's opening group match against hosts Sweden Nadim featured as a substitute in an eventful 1–1 draw.^[27]

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.

27th October 2020, Denmark had to win away against Italy to qualify for the UEFA Women's Euro 2022, and Nadia was crowned player of the match after scoring 2 crucial goals in Denmark's 3-1 win over Italy in Florence. The two goals secured Denmark's spot in the upcoming Euros.^[28]

International goals[]

	hideKey (expand for notes on “international goals” and sorting)
Location	Geographic location of the venue where the competition occurred Sorted by country name first, then by city name
Lineup	Start – played entire match on minute (off player) – substituted on at the minute indicated, and player was substituted off at the same time off minute (on player) – substituted off at the minute indicated, and player was substituted on at the same time (c) – captain Sorted by minutes played
#	NumberOfGoals.goalNumber scored by the player in the match (alternate notation to Goal in match)
Min	The minute in the match the goal was scored. For list that include caps, blank indicates played in the match but did not score a goal.
Assist/pass	The ball was passed by the player, which assisted in scoring the goal. This column depends on the availability and source of this information.
penalty or pk	Goal scored on penalty-kick which was awarded due to foul by opponent. (Goals scored in penalty-shoot-out, at the end of a tied match after extra-time, are not included.)
Score	The match score after the goal was scored. Sorted by goal difference, then by goal scored by the player's team
Result	The final score. Sorted by goal difference in the match, then by goal difference in penalty-shoot-out if it is taken, followed by goal scored by the player's team in the match, then by goal scored in the penalty-shoot-out. For matches with identical final scores, match ending in extra-time without penalty-shoot-out is a tougher match, therefore precede matches that ended in regulation
aet	The score at the end of extra-time; the match was tied at the end of 90' regulation
pso	Penalty-shoot-out score shown in parenthesis; the match was tied at the end of extra-time
	Light-purple background color – exhibition or closed door international friendly match
	Light-yellow background color – match at an invitational tournament
	Pink background color – Continental Games or regional tournament
NOTE on background colors: Continental Games or regional tournament are sometimes also qualifier for World Cup or Olympics; information depends on the source such as the player's federation. NOTE: some keys may not apply for a particular football player

hide	Date	Location	Opponent	Lineup	#	Min	Score	Result	Competition
1	2009-03-09[m 1]	Silves	Iceland	81. off 81' (on Madsen)	1.1	36	5150.01005 1���0	5250.02005 2–0	Algarve Cup
2	2010-03-01[m 2]	Albufeira	Finland	26. on 65' (off Munk)	1.1	80	5150.02005 2–1	5150.02005 2–1	Algarve Cup
3	2012-09-15[m 3]	Vejle	Czech Republic	87. off 87' (on Troelsgaard)	1.1	55	5150.01005 1–0	5150.01005 1–0	UEFA Championship qualifier
4	2012-06-20[m 4]	St. Pölten	Austria	Start	1.1	92	4850.01005 1–3	4850.01005 1–3	UEFA Championship qualifier
5	2013-06-20[m 5]	Viborg	Iceland	45. off 45' (on Jensen)	1.1	34	5150.01005 1–0	5250.02005 2–0	Friendly
6	2013-11-24[m 6]	Valletta	Malta	Start	2.1	26	5250.02005 2–0	5550.05005 5–0	Friendly
7					2.2	46	5450.04005 4–0
8	2014-03-20[m 7]	Albufeira	United States	Start	1.1	35	5250.02005 2–0	5550.02005 5–3	Algarve Cup
9	2014-09-13[m 8]	Vejle	Malta	Start	2.1	28	5450.04005 4–0	5850.08005 8–0	World Cup qualifier
10					2.2	67	5750.07005 7–0
11	2015-10-22[m 9]	Viborg	Moldova	Start	2.1	52	5450.04005 3–0	5850.08005 4–0	UEFA Championship qualifier
12					2.2	89	5750.07005 4–0
13	2016-03-02[m 10]	Albufeira	Canada	Start	1.1	55	5450.04005 1–0	5850.08005 1–0	Algarve Cup
14	2016-03-04[m 11]	Albufeira	Iceland	Start	1.1	53	5450.04005 1–2	5850.08005 1–4	Algarve Cup
15	2016-06-02[m 12]	Viborg	Slovakia	46. on 46' (off Larsen)	2.1	49	5450.04005 2–0	5850.08005 4–0	UEFA Championship qualifier
16					2.2	60	5750.07005 3–0
17	2016-09-15[m 13]	Chișinău	Moldova	Start	2.1	3	5450.04005 1–0	5850.08005 5–0	UEFA Championship qualifier
18					2.2	68	5750.07005 4–0
19	2016-09-20[m 14]	Viborg	Sweden	Start	1.1	47	5450.04005 2–0	5850.08005 2–0	UEFA Championship qualifier
20	2017-07-30[m 15]	Rotterdam	Germany	Start	1.1	49	5450.04005 1–1	5850.08005 2–1	UEFA Championship
21	2017-08-06[m 16]	Enschede	Netherlands	Start	1.1	6	5450.04005 1–0	5850.08005 2–4	UEFA Championship Final
22	2017-09-19[m 17]	Győr	Hungary	83. off 83' (on Sørensen)	1.1	28	5450.04005 1–0	5850.08005 6–1	World Cup qualifier
23	2018-01-22[m 18]	San Diego	United States	Start	1.1	14	5150.01005 1–0	5250.02005 1–5	Friendly
24	2018-06-08[m 19]	Lviv	Ukraine	86. off 86' (on Smidt Nielsen)	2.1	6	5450.04005 1–0	5850.08005 5–1	World Cup qualifier
25					2.2	52	5450.04005 3–0
26	2018-06-12[m 20]	Viborg	Hungary	Start	2.1	44	5450.04005 1–1	5850.08005 5–1	World Cup qualifier
27					2.2	45	5450.04005 2–1
28	2018-08-30[m 21]	Viborg	Croatia	Start	1.1	90+2	5450.04005 1–1	5850.08005 1–1	World Cup qualifier
29	2018-10-09[m 22]	Viborg	Netherlands	Start	1.1	5	5450.04005 1–0	5850.08005 1–2	World Cup qualifier play-offs
30	2019-02-27[m 23]	Algarve	Norway	87. off 87' (on Bruun)	1.1	18	5150.01005 1–0	5250.02005 1–2	Algarve Cup
31	2019-09-03[m 24]	Ramat Gan	Israel	82. off 82' (on Madsen)	1.1	80	5450.04005 2–0	5850.08005 3–0	UEFA Championship qualifier
32	2019-11-12[m 25]	Viborg	Georgia	62. off 62' (on Madsen)	3.1	4	5450.04005 1–0	5850.08005 14–0	UEFA Championship qualifier
–					3.2	26[a]	5450.04005 4–0
33					3.3	36	5450.04005 8–0
34	2020-09-17[m 26]	Zenica	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Start	1.1	37	5450.04005 1–0	5850.08005 4–0	UEFA Championship qualifier
35	2020-09-22[m 27]	Ta' Qali	Malta	66. off 66' (on Bruun)	2.1	7	5450.04005 2–0	5850.08005 8–0	UEFA Championship qualifier
36					2.2	42	5450.04005 3–0
37	2020-10-27[m 28]	Empoli	Italy	72. off 72' (on Bruun)	2.1	17	5450.04005 2–0	5850.08005 3–1	UEFA Championship qualifier
38					2.2	47	5450.04005 3–0

Honours[]

Club[]

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^[29]

International[]

• UEFA Women's Euro runners-up: 2017

Individual[]

• Portland Thorns 2016 Top Goal Scorer

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.^[30][31]

Outside football[]

Personal life[]

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.^[4][5] In 2020, she was assisting in surgery.^[6]

Nadim is Muslim,^[5] and speaks nine languages.^[32]

Afghan singer Aryana Sayeed is her aunt.^[33]

In 2018, Forbes ranked her Number 20 in their "Most Powerful Women in International Sports" list.^[34]

Endorsements[]

Nadia signed a representation contract with Nike in 2017, making her the first ever Danish female football player to be represented by Nike.^[35] 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^[36] as well as Nike's collaborations with Martine Rose.^[37] Besides her work with Nike, Nadia is also known for her work with Visa^[38] and Hugo Boss.^[39]

In 2016, Danish TV station DR released a 4-episode long documentary about Nadia that followed her from Denmark to the United States, documenting her player development with the Portland Thorns.^[40]

In 2018, Danish publisher JP/Politiken published Nadia Nadim's autobiography called "Min Historie"^[41] which translates to "My Story". The book got nominated for Sports book of the year. The book was released in French on the May 26, 2021, through the French publisher Hachette Book Group.^[42] Nadim is known to be one of the best paid players in the women's game but has on several occasions rejected offers that would have made her the absolute best paid player,^[43] saying she does not play for money and will make more than enough in her future career as a doctor.

References[]