Nigerian female football star Asisat Oshoala has made history by becoming the first African woman to be nominated for the upcoming Women’s Ballon d’Or player of the year award. Oshoala, who currently plays for Barcelona Femeni, had previously achieved the remarkable feat of winning the CAF Player of the Year award a record 5 times. She beat fellow nominees Ajara Nchout Njoya (Cameroon and Inter Milan) and Zambia international Grace Chanda (Zambia and BIIK Kazygurt) to clinch the award.
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Oshoala joins 20 other of the world’s best female footballers as nominees for the 2022 Women’s Ballon d’Or prize. These include; Selma Bacha, Fridolina Rolfo, Vivianne Miedema, Lucy Bronze, Sam Kerr, Christiane Endler, Lena Oberdorf, Kadidiatou Diani, Catarina Macario, Alexia Putellas, Alexandra Popp, Aitana Bonmatí, Wendie Renard, Alex Morgan, Beth Mead, Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Millie Bright, Trinity Rodman and Ada Hegerberg.
Oshoala’s nomination is a celebration of her immense skill and talent in the game, as well as the first of many more African achievements on the world stage.
Biography of Asisat Oshoala
Asisat Lamina Oshoala MON (born 9 October 1994) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Spanish Liga F club FC Barcelona and the Nigeria women’s national team.[3] Widely regarded as one of the greatest African female footballers of all time and one of the best in the world,[4][5] she is one of the most celebrated African female footballers of all time, and she has a record of winning African Women’s Footballer of the Year for five times.[6][7]
Asisat previously played for English clubs Arsenal and Liverpool, Chinese club Dailan, and Nigerian clubs Rivers Angels and FC Robo. She won the 2015 FA Women’s Cup with Arsenal; two league championships and a cup title with Dalian; and the 2019–20 Copa de la Reina and 2019–20 Supercopa de España Femenina with Barcelona. She was the first African (and Nigerian) player to score a goal in a UEFA Women’s Champions League final and has helped Barcelona reach the semi-finals three consecutive years, and one final. On 16 May 2021, Asisat became the first African woman to win the UEFA Champions League, after Barcelona defeated Chelsea 4–0 in the finals.[8] The following season, she became the first African woman to win the Primera División‘s Pichichi Trophy, and in August 2022 became the first African woman nominated to the Ballon d’Or.
Asisat was the highest goal scorer at the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup and was named best player at the tournament. She was also named best player and second top goalscorer with the Super Falcons team who won the 2014 African Women’s Championship.
In September 2014, Oshoala was made a Member of the Order of the Niger by President of Nigeria Goodluck Jonathan. In 2021, she was named in the Forbes 30 Under 30.[9]
