Over the last few weeks, television viewers have become very familiar with the main characters on display in The Traitors Ireland.

The RTÉ show has taken the country by storm over the last month or so, with those taking part in the series becoming household names. We may know quite a bit about their personalities in the game, but in many cases, we are far less familiar with their lives before they entered the castle.

As it turns out, one cast member in the The Traitors Ireland boasts a distinguished football career.

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Star Of ‘The Traitors Ireland’ Also Had A Distinguished Football Career

Vanessa Ogbonna made it all the way to the final of The Traitors Ireland, at which point she opened up on her career as a footballer. Having moved from Nigeria to Ireland at a young age, she would go on to earn a college scholarship to play football in the USA.

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On Monday night’s episode, she recalled how her stint in the States was a difficult one due to injury and the passing of her father.

I moved to America in 2015 on a sports scholarship for football.

I’m starting to become a pivotal part of the team and unfortunately I tear my ACL…

I tore my ACL in college and about a month later I lost my Dad.

I think I was juggling losing my career and obviously the loss of my Dad at the same time.

I think if I can get over really tough things, I can actually do anything.

Vanessa Ogbonna would join the women’s soccer team at Oakland University in Michigan in 2015, although her first season with the team was cut short due to injury. She would then miss all of the following campaign due to that ACL tear, before making 18 appearances and scoring two goals in 2017 season.

She would eventually graduate from the college with a degree in Wellness and Health Promotion, before returning to Ireland in 2019.

After returning to the country, she would win the WSCAI Kelly Cup as a member of the University College Cork team.

She would then join Wexford Youths and go on to be part of their FAI Cup final triumph at the Aviva Stadium in 2019.

She would later take part in a football reality show on BT Sport in the UK, before eventually join the DLR Waves in 2023. That proved to be her final season in the Women’s Premier Division.

Vanessa Ogbonna has since gone on to become a presenter and media personality after stepping away from football, although she did return to the sport in some capacity in 2024 in order to carry out the FAI Cup first round draw.

Having become a household name on The Traitors Ireland, it will be interesting to see if her links to football pop up more frequently after the end of the show.

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