Who is Kasia Muoto?

Answer 1

Kasia Muoto is one of Nigeria's phenomenal female soccer players. She was a high school star while at Hillcrest International School in Jos, Plateau State, and captained the varsity soccer team all four years of high schoool. In her second year of high school, Kasia's skills piqued the interest of several professional club and state team coaches. She spent that year training with the semi-professional wingerTerry Atare, in Kano State. By her senior year of high school, Muoto was playing on the women's team and also scrimmaging with the high school boy's team at times. She was invited to both the Plateau State and Kano State sports camps in 1990 and 1991, and represented Plateau State in the 1990 National Youth Sports Competition that took place in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Muoto's senior year was focused on staying healthy and sharpening up her skills with the hopes of securing a sports scholarship to either the United States or United Kingdom. Nigerian soccer star and former OlympianKadiri Ikhana, MON, took Muoto under his wing in 1990 and has remained a mentor to her since. As his protege, Muoto excelled and was asked to join the national women's soccer camp, that was preparing for the first-ever women's World Cup in China (1991). She spent much of the summer of 1991 training with Kadiri Ikhana and the Kano Pillars Football Club, which Ikhana professionally coached at the time. Muoto received several scholarship offers from universities in the United States and moved on to Florida. Her decision to go to college meant that she did not join the China 1991 women's world-cup camp. Ikhana and Muoto both felt it was the best decision at that timegiven her "ambitions, aspirations, financial constraints, and the once in a lifetime full scholarship offer". Muoto subsequently transferred from the Florida-based university where it is said she and the coach theredid not see eye-to-eye on things. She found an academic haven and home at the Ivy League University of Pennsylvania, and refocused her energies on academics and careerwhile still playing soccer with the African men's league in Philadelphia. Muoto became a city favorite within the African immigrant community and the West Philadelphia community, and quickly earned a reputation asthe only capablefemale who would scrimmage with the African/Caribbean migrant football leagues. Muoto graduated from UPENN in 1996 and is a corporate professional in the New York area, often found coaching youth teams, and playing in local area leagues. She still wears her original #9, and insists on printing her first name (KASIA)on the back of her jerseys.