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| Michelle Alozie at the lab in her jersey |
As Nigeria pursues a record-breaking 10th WAFCON title, Super Falcons defender Michelle Alozie is gaining recognition not only for her skills on the pitch but also for her commitment to cancer research.
Alozie, who holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Molecular Biology from Yale University, balances her football career with part-time work as a research technician studying acute leukemia at Texas Children’s Hospital.
She once shared with FIFA that her motivation for this career choice stemmed from a desire to help others.
At 28, the Houston Dash defender has been a key player in Nigeria’s solid defense, appearing in all four matches so far at the 2024 WAFCON in Morocco, where the team’s back line has yet to concede a goal.
In an interview with CAF Media during the tournament’s semi-finals, Alozie once again, spoke passionately about how her love for both football and medical research drives her dual career journey.
She says: “With football and cancer research, the thing that connects me is just passion. They are two things I have been passionate about since I was younger. I’ve always wanted to be in medicine. I’ve always wanted to be a footballer,” she said in a video shared by CAF.
“So, being able to do both in my adult life is amazing and truly a dream come true.”
After the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, Alozie returned to the lab in Texas, and she adds that one of her proudest moments in the journey was recorded with a patient.
“Off the pitch, a moment that I am super proud of is meeting one of my doctor’s patients, and she was off to the nationals for soccer, and she was unfortunately unable to go because she was diagnosed with leukaemia, and just being able to meet her kind of gave her some inspiration,” she said.
“I gave her one of my club jerseys, and just to keep her pushing in the fight was everything for me in the moment, and it gave my life so much purpose.”
According to a Punch Newspaper’s report, Alozie made her debut for Nigeria on June 10, 2021, as a 65th-minute substitute in a 1-0 friendly loss to Jamaica. The game was part of the 2021 US Summer Series in Houston, where Alozie was training with the Dash.
Although she was not invited into the team, her presence solved the Falcons’ problem of numbers, and she was named to Nigeria’s roster by coach Randy Waldrum after one training session with the team.
In Nigeria’s second game of the series against Portugal, Alozie scored her first (and so far her only) goal for Nigeria in an enthralling 3-3 draw.
She has played at the Olympics and the World Cup with the Falcons and could win her first major trophy with the country in Morocco.
Nigeria will play South Africa in the semi-finals on Tuesday, July 22, 2025, in Casablanca.
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