Eighty-eight minutes gone at the Stade Olympique in Rabat. Nigeria had been 2-0 down at the break, Morocco were hanging on at 2-2, and Jennifer Echegini arrived to settle a WAFCON final. That goal on 26 July 2025 gave the Super Falcons a tenth African title. It was also, she said afterwards, the first trophy of her career.
Here is who she is, where she plays now, and what is and is not known about her money.
| At a glance | Jennifer Echegini |
|---|---|
| Full name | Jennifer Onyinyechi Echegini (also called Onyi or Joe) |
| Born | 22 March 2001, Nijmegen, Netherlands |
| Position | Central midfielder |
| Club | Paris Saint-Germain (since July 2024) |
| Contract | Until June 2027 |
| College | Mississippi State, then Florida State |
| Big moment | Winning goal in the WAFCON 2024 final, played in July 2025 |
| Salary | Not published by club or player |
Nijmegen, London, then Tallahassee
Many profiles describe her as American-born. She is not.
Echegini was born in the Netherlands to Nigerian parents. She played for the amateur club SCE in Nijmegen until her family moved to London when she was 11, according to the Dutch broadcaster NOS. In England she came through the Arsenal academy, with spells at Charlton Athletic and Millwall Lionesses. She has spoken of living in Erith before her family settled in Dartford.
The American chapter came later, at university. She started at Mississippi State, then transferred to Florida State. The 2023 season in Tallahassee changed everything: 16 goals and five assists in 21 games, an undefeated national championship and the MAC Hermann Trophy, the top individual award in college soccer. Tomahawk Nation, which covers the Seminoles, called her a London native.
Choosing the Falcons
Nigeria was not always the plan. She told NOS that her idea had been to play for the Netherlands, which felt more realistic. Her link to Nigeria was slight. Then the phone rang.
The call itself was almost an accident. Then Falcons coach Randy Waldrum spotted her name in the transfer portal while she was changing schools and asked whether she could join the team for a friendly, a small invitation that put her on the road to a World Cup within months.
At the 2023 Women's World Cup, Nigeria reached the round of 16. “Being around an environment like the World Cup, makes you better,” she later said. Her first international goal came against New Zealand in April 2023. At the Paris 2024 Olympics she scored Nigeria's only goal of the tournament, against Japan in Nantes.
Asked about identity in a 2024 interview, she was frank. “You kind of forget your history in a way because you're not reminded every day,” she said.
Rabat answered that for many fans. Esther Okoronkwo's penalty started the comeback, and our Esther Okoronkwo profile tells her side of it. “I'm just going to carry this moment close to me,” Echegini said of her winner.
Juventus to Paris
Juventus signed her on 4 January 2024 on a deal to June 2026. She scored an 89th-minute winner at Sassuolo on 21 January. Six months later she was gone. Then came Paris. PSG announced her on a contract to June 2027, and the Confederation of African Football noted she became the club's first African player.
“Signing for Paris Saint-Germain is an immense source of pride,” she said on arrival.
Others have tried to prise her away. PSG turned down an approach from Chelsea in February 2026, Le Parisien reported, and then rejected Manchester City offers before the Women's Super League deadline in September 2026, even with only a year left on her deal. She stayed.
On 4 October 2026 she opened the scoring in a 3-1 league win at Fleury. It was her first league goal of the campaign, and fellow Falcon Rasheedat Ajibade also scored. At WAFCON 2026 in Morocco she missed the win over Egypt after a second yellow card. She returned for the quarter-final, where Cameroon won 1-0 in Casablanca.
Jennifer Echegini salary: what is known
No reliable figure exists. PSG do not publish wages. Echegini has never disclosed hers, and neither of her moves to Juventus or PSG came with a published fee, so any number quoted online as her salary is an estimate, not a reported fact.
What is on record is the state reward. After Rabat, President Bola Tinubu announced $100,000 for each player, a three-bedroom apartment and the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger. At the Central Bank reference rate of ₦1,329.16 to the dollar on 6 October 2026, that cash is worth about ₦132.9 million. Delivery has been disputed. The National Sports Commission said in July 2026 that the money had been paid; a Guardian columnist wrote in August 2026 that none of the three parts had been fully delivered.
For the dugout side, see our piece on what the Super Falcons coach earns.
Our view
She is the modern Falcon.
Born in Europe and schooled in English academies and American campuses, Echegini still decided a continental final for Nigeria, which tells you the diaspora route now feeds the national team as surely as the NWFL does, and the NFF should keep scouting it with the care that found her in a transfer portal. Interim coach Augustine Eguavoen faces Comoros in Olympic qualifiers in Ikenne this month. Her PSG deal is in its final year. Few midfielders have a better chance of one day joining the Falcons' all-time top scorers.
This article was most recently revised and updated 5 hours ago
