Nadia Nadim


Nadia Nadim is an Afghan-Danish football player who plays as a striker for French Division 1 Féminine club Paris Saint-Germain as well as for the Danish national team.

Early life and club career

Nadim was born in Herat and raised in Afghanistan until her father, an Afghan National Army general, was executed by the Taliban in 2000. Her family then fled to Denmark, where she began her football career, playing for B52 Aalborg, Team Viborg and IK Skovbakken, 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.

Club career

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.

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 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 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 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. 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 out. 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. Nadia was later rewarded with the captains 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.

Playing style

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 both of her attempts at Euro 2017.

Financials

Nadim is known to be one of the best paid players in the Women's game, but have at several occasions rejected offers that would have made her the absolute best paid player, saying she doesn't play for money and that she will make millions out of her future career as a doctor.

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. A subsequent challenge from the Danish Football Association 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 0–2 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 substitute 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.

International goals

DateLocationOpponentLineup#MinScoreResultCompetition
1
2009-03-09Silves1.136Algarve Cup
2
2010-03-01Albufeira1.180Algarve Cup
3
2012-09-15Vejle1.155UEFA Championship qualifier
4
2012-06-20St. PöltenStart1.192UEFA Championship qualifier
5
2013-06-20Viborg1.134Friendly
6
2013-11-24VallettaStart2.126Friendly
7
2013-11-24VallettaStart2.246Friendly
8
2014-03-20AlbufeiraStart1.135Algarve Cup
9
2014-09-13VejleStart2.128World Cup qualifier
10
2014-09-13VejleStart2.267World Cup qualifier

Honours

International

In July 2019, Nadia Nadim was named UNESCO Champion for Girls and Women’s Education. Nadia Nadim 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.

Personal life

In 2017 Nadim was attending medical school at Aarhus University with the aim of becoming a surgeon when her playing days are over. Nadim is Muslim, and speaks eleven languages.
Afghan singer Aryana Sayeed is her aunt.