Former Nigeria international and African champion Loretta Sadoh reconnects with football as a FIFA Club World Cup volunteer

Former Nigeria international and African champion Loretta Sadoh reconnects with football as a FIFA Club World Cup volunteer

By Admin 

Loretta Sadoh’s role as a FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ volunteer placed her just a few steps from the heart of the action. During the Al Ain FC-Juventus FC match that kicked off the competition’s schedule in Washington D.C., she had the opportunity to assist with VIP guest operations.

Among those in attendance at Audi Field were FIFA President Gianni Infantino – “He waved, which was cool,” Sadoh said – as well as FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

Sadoh’s most exciting VIP encounter, however, was with Juventus executive Giorgio Chiellini, the famous former Bianconeri and Italy defender.

“He was gracious. He was nice. I let him know that it was really nice to meet him,” she recalled. “He had all these people around him, security and friends. So, it had to be really quick. We didn't really get time to converse.”

Had there been time for a conversation, Chiellini would have discovered that Sadoh was not a typical volunteer. She’s a bit of a VIP herself, in fact, and has something historic in common with her Italian counterpart. Like Chiellini, Sadoh is a former international defender. And like Chiellini – a UEFA Euro 2020 winner with the Azzurri – Sadoh is a continental champion.

During a playing career that featured a lengthy spell with Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) power house Bayelsa Queens F.C. and a year in Finland, Sadoh was capped eight times by Nigeria. She was in the Super Falcons squad that won bronze at the 2008 African Women’s Championship in Equatorial Guinea, and then was part of the team that lifted the trophy two years later in South Africa.

Although Sadoh’s gold medal remains with her at home in the Maryland suburbs between Baltimore and the U.S. capital, her playing exploits feel increasingly distant and she hopes to reconnect with the game. After her retirement following the 2013 season, Sadoh worked briefly in sponsorship and marketing for the National Women's Football League (NWFL) and then for a foundation that provided sporting opportunities to children from vulnerable communities.

In 2016, she was awarded a scholarship to study sports management and international relations in Korea Republic. Sadoh extended her stay and earned a master’s in international studies before moving to Maryland in 2021 to be close to her sister. Although Sadoh has dabbled in youth coaching while working full-time in healthcare information technology, she said she longs to rekindle her involvement in football. That longing led her to apply to be a Club World Cup volunteer.

"I'm looking to really pivot into where my passion lies,” she said. “I'm looking to give back. I’m looking to network and support the competition and just be part of the excitement.”

FIFA relies heavily on the devotion, commitment and skills of the thousands of volunteers who dedicate their time and energy to bringing complex competitions to life. From logistics and hospitality to technology, media and fan relations, FIFA volunteers ensure the gears turn properly while infusing each event with unmistakable local flavour.

“The United States will host the 32 best clubs in the world and their fans, and our amazing volunteers will be the smiling faces that welcome them and create the joyful atmosphere that makes FIFA events so special. This will be an opportunity for them to represent their Host Cities and share their unique culture with the world,” Mr. Infantino said when the Club World Cup application period opened in January.

More than 68,000 potential volunteers applied to be part of the Club World Cup’s inaugural expanded edition. Sadoh’s application, which included a photograph of her playing against South Africa, was one of approximately 8,000 accepted.

Sadoh, who is trilingual, is thrilled by the broad progress made in the women’s game, but said she’s now inspired to help it develop further. Although she has been reluctant to talk excessively about her achievements and didn’t identify herself to Chiellini, Sadoh said she hopes her Club World Cup experience might serve as an entryway back into football, while helping strengthen her ties to the sport in her new home. She’s especially keen on working in administration.

Her involvement as a volunteer during the three matches in Washington feels like the ideal springboard.

“As a player, you're always the main actor. You’re on the pitch. You see the fans and all the excitement, and you don't know what goes on at the back end to make all that come to life,” she said. “So I was able to experience that and see all that, and see all the work that goes on in the back, and I really got to appreciate them. So that was a good experience for me.”