Halimatu Ayinde
Nigerian footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Halimatu Ibrahim Ayinde ⓘ OON (born 16 May 1995) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for BK Häcken[2] and the Nigeria women's national team. She previously played for Western New York Flash in the United States, Delta Queens in Nigeria and Eskilstuna United in Sweden.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Halimatu Ibrahim Ayinde[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 16 May 1995[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Kaduna, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | BK Häcken | ||
| Number | 28 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Delta Queens | |||
| 2015–2016 | Western New York Flash | 9 | (1) |
| 2016 | FC Minsk | 5 | (4) |
| 2018 | Asarums IF | 22 | (4) |
| 2019–2022 | Eskilstuna United | 50 | (0) |
| 2022–2025 | FC Rosengård | 45 | (1) |
| 2026– | BK Häcken | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2010–2012 | Nigeria U17 | 6 | (4) |
| 2014 | Nigeria U20 | 6 | (0) |
| 2015– | Nigeria | 33 | (1) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 30 January 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 3 March 2026 | |||
Club career
Halimatu Ayinde was signed by the American team Western New York Flash on 15 June 2015 from the Nigerian domestic team Delta Queens.[3] She made her debut with a start in the 1–0 loss against the Houston Dash; she was substituted in the 79th minute.[4] After spending a season with the team, during which time she made nine appearances, including five in the starting lineups, she was released on 12 May 2016.[3] She had admitted underperforming in her first season with the Flash, but felt that she had improved in the 2016 preseason, scoring against the A team put forward by the University of Vermont. At the time this affected her selection for the Nigeria women's national football team, with Ayinde not being selected for a match against Senegal.[5]
She joined FC Minsk of the Belarusian Premier League later that year,[6] making her debut in the 3–0 victory over Bobruichanka Bobruisk on 2 September. She was one of three Minsk players to score in the match, and went on to appear for the team in their UEFA Women's Champions League games.[7] Her form continued in her first few games, scoring the only goal in an away match against Nadezhda SDJuShOR-7 Mogilev on her third match for Minsk.[8]
International career
She was part of the Nigeria national team at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup and the winning squad at the 2014 African Women's Championship.[9]
On 16 June 2023, she was included in the 23-player Nigerian squad for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023.[10]
Honours
- Damallsvenskan: 2021, 2022,[11] 2024[12]
- Svenska Cupen: 2021–22
- Nigeria
- U-20 Women's World Cup (runners-up): 2014
- African Women's Championship (3): 2014, 2016, 2024
