Ashleigh Megan Plumptre (born 8 May 1998) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Leicester City in the English Women’s Super League and the Nigeria national team. Formerly an England youth international, she made her senior Nigeria debut in February 2022.

Plumptre has represented England at under-15, under-17, under-19 and under-23 level including at two tournaments: the 2014 and 2015 UEFA Women’s Under-17 Championship.

Predominantly a forward or attacking midfielder at youth level, she scored twice during a 9–0 win over Moldova in the 2015 UEFA Women’s Under-17 Championship qualifying round.

In 2016, 17-year-old Plumptre was the youngest player named to the under-23 team for the 2016 La Manga Tournament. She made a combined 30 appearances at youth level, scoring 10 goals.

Having earlier expressed an interest in representing Nigeria at senior level in June 2021, Plumptre received her first call-up for an eight-day training camp held in Austria the following month. She qualifies to play for Nigeria through her paternal grandfather, a Yoruba from Lagos.

She made an unofficial debut on 23 July 2021, starting in a 1–0 friendly win over Slovenian 1. SŽNL club Olimpija Ljubljana. In November 2021, she attended a training camp in Nigeria. In late December 2021, she was officially cleared by FIFA to represent Nigeria. She made her official debut on 18 February 2022, starting in a 2–0 win over Ivory Coast during 2022 Africa Women Cup of Nations qualification.

On 16 June 2023, she was included in the 23-player Nigeria squad for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Personal life

Plumptre’s grandfather was born in Nigeria. She grew up supporting Leicester City and attended the parade when the men’s team won the 2015–16 Premier League title.

In 2017, Plumptre was invited to the White House as part of USC’s National Championship winning celebrations.