International Career
Her two seasons of consistency with Jegede Babes, where she scored a total of 49 goals in two seasons, caught the attention of national coach Ismaila Mabo and Mercy was called to camp in 1994. But another rush of goals, 17 in the league and 9 in the Challenge Cup earned her a recall. Her international debut came soon after, a World Cup qualifier against Sierra Leone in Ibadan with Mercy playing as a winger. She marked it with two goals. She scored one more in the return leg to cement her place in the team. In 2001 she was named the first African Women Footballer of the Year, and was a 1999 and 2004 FIFA World All-Star.
She has played for Nigeria in three FIFA Women's World Cups and also helped Nigeria's Super Falcons to three African Women Championships (AWC) titles in 1998, 2000 and 2002. In November 2004, she married football journalist Colin Udoh in her home town of Port Harcourt.
In 2005, she was named by FIFA as one of its 15 Ambassadors for Women Football.
Read more about this topic: Mercy Akide
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