They Told Me to Lie About My Age But I Chose to Lose Everything Instead. — Ngozi Ebere ( Famous Nigerian Female Footballer )

I still remember the day I diagnosed something inside myself that many players in my shoes would have ignored the part of me that refused to lie. When I got that call‑up to the Super Falcons U‑17 team, people saw opportunity: fame, glory, a fast track to the spotlight.

I saw something else: the wrong age on my passport, a truth unable to bend. I turned them down not out of fear, but integrity. I couldn’t represent a country that I felt I’d misled. Others saw it as a missed chance I saw it as keeping my soul intact.

I began my career at Rivers Angels in Port Harcourt, and by 2014, we’d won the league and Federation Cup double. I scored the third goal in the final I can still feel the roar. That same year, winning the African Women’s Championship with the Super Falcons felt like affirmation. Still, even after that, I refused to hide who I was or wasn’t.

In September 2015, my dream came true: Paris Saint‑Germain signed me on a two‑year deal. It was surreal walking into PSG’s training ground, meeting world‑class teammates, facing Lyon in a league match. I was among the very few Nigerians who had made it to France yet I was still the same girl from Port Harcourt with an unshakable belief in honesty.

But I knew something more important than Paris was still ahead playing clean, playing real. I later moved to Cyprus and then to Norway still carrying that same pride, that same truth. In Norway in 2019, the league was rainy and competitive, but I was more mentally equipped than ever. I had tasted temptations cheating, shortcuts, lies. And I walked past them.

I tell this story not to boast, but to show the weight of simple truths. When I walk onto the pitch, I still hear that early decision the echo of refusing greatness built on deception. I may not have had the most glamorous career few goals, no European trophies but I never traded integrity for applause. So hear me: you can lose glory, but hold on to honesty.

Would you have lied to get ahead or walked away like she did , share in the comments .

Source: Based on interviews and featured profiling by TrivenetoGoal.it and Punch Nigeria.