With it being UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 season, it's worth getting to know the England national team players a little more and Nikita Paris is one of them. The 28-year-old plays the position of forward on the Lioness team. Born on March 10, 1994, Nikita hails from Liverpool, Toxteth.
With an Instagram following of 114K, Nikita plays alongside the likes of Jill Scott and Fran Kirby on the England national team. With 65 caps and 15 senior goals, she is a talented player to look out for on the Lioness team.
Nikita Parris’ early life
Parris was raised in Toxteth with her twin sister, two brothers, and mother. Her mum worked three jobs, just to support the family.
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Nikita discovered her passion for football from a young age as she trained with the athletic team at the school she attended, St. Patrick’s Primary School. At just age six, the Arsenal player started playing football with boys near her home and she continued doing so until she was 16 years old.
In fact, Nikita was so passionate about football that she created her own football team. Speaking about this in the past, the 28-year-old said: “I started a football team myself at the age of eleven because I wanted to have a women’s team in the local community. So, I gathered all my friends and family and everyone I knew... and we were successful. We won the league.”
As a child, she supported her hometown’s football team, Liverpool F.C, with one of her favourite players at the time, Michael Owen.
Nikita joined the grassroots club of Kingsley, with whom she played alongside her family members including her two cousins and twin sister.
Nikita Parris’ professional football club career
Making a transition from playing with boys, Parris joined her first ever senior club team with Everton, in May 2010, at age 16. In her first match playing for the team, she acted as a second-half substitute in an away game against Arsenal.
During her time at Everton, Nikita achieved scoring her first goal (a brace) on August 7, 2010, helping her team to a 10–0 win against Borec. In 2016, she signed a contract with Manchester City.
In that same year in October, she made her UEFA Women's Champions League debut for the tea, playing against Zvezda-2005 Perm in a 2-0 win. During her time at Manchester City, Parris made 127 appearances for the club and scored 62 goals.
In 2019, Parris was voted the Football Writers’ Association Women's Player of the Year and she also helped Manchester City win two FA Cups, two Continental Cups, a league title, and two Champions League semi-finals.
In 2019, Nikita left Manchester City to join Olympique Lyonnais. Impressively, she scored her first league goal for the club in her first match with the club in a 6–0 win against Marseille. She also scored four goals in six 2019–20 UEFA Women's Champions League appearances, whilst under the Olympique Lyonnais club.
After two seasons with the Olympique Lyonnais, Parris switched back to the Super League to join Arsenal F.C. On May 1, 2022, she scored her 50th goal in the Women’s Super League in the match against Aston Villa.
Parris made her debut on the England national team in June 2016 and made her England bow against Serbia just three days after her first match with the team scored her first goals against Serbia.
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