Ashleigh Plumptre: 'If it wasn't for the fans, it wouldn't feel the same'

Alice Wright spoke to Leicester City and Nigeria defender, Ashleigh Plumptre, ahead of the Foxes' final WSL home game of the 2022/23 season.

(Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)

It was a cold winters day in 2019 when 21-year-old Ashleigh Plumptre landed back in England. She had just walked off the plane from America feeling incredibly jet-lagged when she received the news she was signing for Leicester.

The young defender had less than 24 hours to process the news before she was whisked to the King Power. Plumptre was tired and delirious as she was dragged from interview to signing. The day went by in a flash and before she knew it she had signed for her hometown club.

After growing up just 30 minutes away in Melton Mowbray, Ashleigh found her love of football from the age of four, after she joined a sports club during the summer.

"It all started when I was at a sports club," Plumptre explains. "I was one of those kids who played lots of different sports, I didn’t really care what I did I just wanted to be active."

Ashleigh Plumptre has supported Leicester since the age of eight. She recalls sitting in the family stand with her mum to watch the games and explained why she loved N'Golo Kante.

"Kante was my favourite player to watch, not just because of his ability, but also how he conducted himself as a professional. I just feel like he's very introverted and he just had a lot of humility about him."

The Leicester defender joined Asfordby Amateurs, before joining The Foxes' centre of excellence from the age of eight to 14.

As a teenager she left Leicester and was tempted to Birmingham's U17 side. After that followed a short spell at Derby before joining Notts County, who were a WSL side then.

In 2016, Plumptre moved to America on a scholarship at the University of California, where she studied human biology. Her college team went on to win the National Championship and she was invited to the White House in the same year.

"I wanted to be somewhere where I didn’t have to play professionally and kind of miss out on university and I wanted to have the best of both worlds," Plumptre recalls. "It just suited me and it was very structured."

Although she enjoyed America, her heart was set on returning to her hometown. Despite interest from various teams, Plumptre always knew it would be Leicester. Her father, also her agent, approached the club and before she knew it she was a Leicester City player.

"I never grew up wanting to be a professional footballer it wasn’t until my second to last year of university that I decided I wanted to carry on playing."

Plumptre continued, "I said to my dad that I don’t want to be anywhere other than Leicester because I wanted to be somewhere where it meant something to me."

After joining The Foxes, Plumptre played a key role in securing Leicester's promotion to the WSL. The team went professional in August 2020 when it was bought by King Power.

When I first joined, the club were semi-professional, so we just turned professional and said we wanted to make it to the super league," Plumptre explained. "I think people thought there was a bit of arrogance, but it wasn’t. We had a goal in mind and that’s what we wanted to achieve."

She added, "That whole season we had a lot of pressure on us because from the beginning we said that we were going to win it."

Football is more than just a sport to Plumptre. She always wanted to give back to the Leicester community and becoming an ambassador for Menphys, a local charity which supports young people with disabilities and special needs, was a perfect fit.

"I wanted to be involved in anything community-wise anyway, but I have a younger brother that's 13, who has autism, so he uses the resources at Menphys," Plumptre says.

"I reached out to them within a couple of months of signing and I asked if there was anything I could do. Now, I've formed a really good relationship with them and they have a big place in my heart, not just the charity itself, but the people that run it as well.

"I've done a couple of fundraising things, so I did a London to Paris bike ride last summer and I raised £5000, Plumptre continued. "It's mainly using my platform to try and bring awareness to Menphys and then when I can I try and raise as much money as possible."

During the coronavirus pandemic, Plumptre began thinking about her Nigerian heritage. Her paternal grandfather was born in Lagos.

"I have a younger sister who spoke to me a lot about her heritage and how she feels about being Nigerian. There was more of a personal connection to my heritage and my families' heritage and then I wanted to experience not just the football out there but being a part of Nigerian culture that I never grew up with."

Plumptre now faces a different battle as her team prepare to confirm their status in the WSL. The Foxes are three points away from safety and hope that a win against West Ham on Sunday will secure survival. Ashleigh Plumptre explained the importance of the Leicester fans going into the last couple of games.

"This year even though we're in a relegation battle I feel a bit more level-headed over it all. I feel like I’ve learnt from last year. So, I know now that we’re getting more fans at games, and I don’t take for granted that they pay their money to come watch us and they make that part of their weekend."

She continued, "You know I feel like I want to perform and keep us in this league so that those people can still have that experience of going to watch this team at the weekend on a Sunday at King Power."

Finally, she had a message for the fans:

"The Leicester fans have been brilliant all year and I mention quite a lot how they've stuck with us during the first half of the season when we weren't getting any points, but they would still turn up.

"Throughout the game even when there's a shift in momentum, we hear the fans and it has such a big impact on us. We want to make the King Power Stadium a home for us and not just for us as players but us as Leicester City. If it wasn't for the fans, it wouldn't feel the same."