Within the story of African ladies’s soccer, few names have commanded the stage like Asisat Lamina Oshoala. At 30 years outdated, the Nigerian striker has constructed a profession that continues to encourage hundreds of thousands throughout the continent and past. Her journey from the streets of Lagos to turning into a worldwide soccer icon displays not simply expertise, however drive, sacrifice and perception.
Let me state right here that solely Nigerian feminine gamers can rise up for this dialog about who the best feminine footballer in African historical past is. Nigeria has dominated feminine soccer in Africa, and simply this weekend bagged a tenth WAFCON title after a shocking victory over Morocco In Rabat.
Oshoala’s skilled profession started in Nigeria with FC Robo Queens, earlier than her brilliance led her to Rivers Angels, the place she rapidly gained nationwide recognition. It wasn’t lengthy earlier than she caught the attention of European scouts, and in 2015 she signed for Liverpool Ladies. That transfer made her the primary African feminine footballer to play within the English high division. She later joined Arsenal, successful the FA Ladies’s Cup throughout her quick however impactful spell in North London.
Her subsequent vacation spot was China, the place she starred for Dalian Quanjian, dominating the league as high scorer and clinching two league titles. Nonetheless, it was in Spain with FC Barcelona Femení that Oshoala reached new heights. Throughout her five-year keep on the membership, she scored 85 targets in 101 appearances, received 5 Primera División titles, two UEFA Ladies’s Champions League trophies, 4 Spanish Tremendous Cups, and three Copa de la Reina titles. She was additionally the league’s high scorer within the 2021–22 season. In 2024, she made a high-profile transfer to Bay FC in the US, the place she continues to shine within the NWSL.
Internationally, Oshoala has been simply as influential. She first represented Nigeria on the FIFA U-20 Ladies’s World Cup in 2014, the place she received each the Golden Boot and Golden Ball whereas serving to Nigeria attain the ultimate. She made her senior workforce debut in 2013 and has since scored 37 targets in over 60 appearances for the Tremendous Falcons. She has lifted the Ladies’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) 4 instances and was a key determine in Nigeria’s gorgeous comeback win over Morocco within the 2024 WAFCON remaining, the place the Falcons secured their record-extending tenth continental crown.
With six African Ladies Footballer of the Yr awards to her title, Oshoala is probably the most embellished feminine footballer in African historical past. She was named African Youth Participant of the Yr in 2014, obtained the Queen of the Pitch award the identical yr, and has completed as high scorer in leagues throughout three completely different continents. These accolades, alongside together with her honours at each membership and worldwide ranges, have made her not only a standout athlete, however an emblem of African excellence in ladies’s soccer.
However in terms of the query of whether or not she is the best African feminine footballer of all time, it sparks wholesome debate — notably when names like Perpetua Nkwocha are talked about. Nkwocha, a Tremendous Falcons legend from the early 2000s, scored over 80 targets in lower than 100 appearances and holds the report for many targets scored in WAFCON historical past. Her efficiency within the 2004 remaining towards Cameroon, the place she scored 4 targets, stays one of the vital dominant shows in African soccer. Nkwocha was greater than a purpose scorer; her motion, creativity and management made her an entire ahead who impressed a technology, and to this present day, she is Nigeria’s all-time high scorer.
Even earlier than Nkwocha, there have been pioneers who formed the early id of the Tremendous Falcons. Florence Omagbemi captained Nigeria within the late 90s and later coached the workforce to WAFCON glory. Goalkeeper Ann Chiejine, midfielder Rita Nwadike, and Florence “Showemimo” had been key members of the early squads that competed within the 1991 and 1995 FIFA Ladies’s World Cups. Chioma Ajunwa, who additionally featured in that first World Cup squad, later received Nigeria’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in lengthy bounce, turning into the one lady in historical past to compete at each the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics as a observe and area athlete.
Then got here gamers like Mercy Akide, who dominated the late 90s and early 2000s. Her tempo, energy and affect off the pitch helped popularise ladies’s soccer in Nigeria. Akide was adopted by proficient names like Stella Mbachu, Maureen Mmadu, Yinka Kudaisi, Persistence Avre, and the late Ifeanyi Chiejine, all of whom carried the Tremendous Falcons by way of a golden interval of continental dominance.
The greatness of those ladies can’t be understated. They laid the groundwork for the rise of contemporary stars like Oshoala, who’s a product of their legacy. Nonetheless, Asisat’s achievements have taken the sport to unprecedented ranges for an African feminine footballer. Her success throughout Nigeria, England, China, Spain and now the US, mixed together with her management and impression for the nationwide workforce, makes a compelling case for her being the best.
Regardless of swirling rumours after the 2024 WAFCON remaining suggesting she would possibly retire from worldwide soccer, Oshoala rapidly dismissed them. Talking to journalists in Morocco, she mentioned, “I don’t know the place that got here from. I get it, however I’m not bothered. I’m nonetheless right here. I’m nonetheless enjoying. I’m nonetheless doing my job. That’s what I’m targeted on.”
Certainly, she continues to be right here. Nonetheless scoring. Nonetheless main. Nonetheless inspiring.
Whether or not Asisat Oshoala is the best African feminine footballer of all time would possibly stay a matter of opinion, particularly within the hearts of followers who grew up watching the likes of Perpetua Nkwocha or Mercy Akide. But when greatness is measured by trophies, international recognition, consistency on the highest stage, and impression past the pitch, then there’s little doubt that the woman from Ikorodu, fondly referred to as “Agba Baller,” has earned her place on the very high.
