 Oshoala with Barcelona in 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Asisat Lamina Oshoala[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 9 October 1994[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Ikorodu, Nigeria | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Bay FC | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Robo | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2013 | Robo | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2015 | Rivers Angels | (6) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Liverpool | 9 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Arsenal | 11 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Dalian Quanjian | 20 | (23) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | → Barcelona (loan) | 7 | (7) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2024 | Barcelona | 101 | (85) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Bay FC | 5 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2014 | Nigeria U20 | 11 | (7) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013– | Nigeria | 61 | (37) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17 March 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 31 October 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Asisat Lamina Oshoala MON (born 9 October 1994) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) club Bay FC and the Nigeria women's national team. She is widely regarded as one of the best female players in women's football and her generation.[3][4] She is one of the most celebrated African female footballers of all time, having won African Women's Footballer of the Year a record six times.[5][6]
Oshoala previously played for English clubs Arsenal and Liverpool, Chinese club Dalian, 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. In 2019, she became the first African player to score a goal in a UEFA Women's Champions League final. On 16 May 2021, Oshoala became the first African woman to win the UEFA Champions League, after Barcelona defeated Chelsea 4–0 in the finals.[7] 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 Féminin. In 2024, she became the first African player to win the UEFA Champions League three times.
Oshoala was the highest goal scorer at the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and was named the best player at the tournament. She was also named the best player and second highest goal scorer 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.[8] She is popularly called “Àgba Baller”, which means in her local parlance, “Legendary Footballer”.
In July 2023, after her group stage heroics against Australia in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, Oshoala saw a massive increase in her Instagram followership which made her become the first African female footballer to have a million followers on the social media platform.[9]
- ^ "List of Players – Nigeria" (PDF). FIFA. 4 August 2014. p. 14. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
- ^ a b "List of Players – 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
- ^ Sulola, Remi (6 July 2024). "INTERVIEW: Falcons good enough to overcome tough Olympic group, says Oshoala". TheCable. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
- ^ Nlebem, Anthony (3 February 2024). "From Barcelona Femeni to Bay FC: The story of Asisat Oshoala". Businessday NG. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
- ^ Abayomi, Anita (19 July 2021). "Asisat Oshoala: As long as Education is Important Sport is Also Important". theathletic.com. The Athletic. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ Klosok, Aleks (5 October 2021). "Asisat Oshoala: How a grandmother's belief gave birth to an African soccer superstar". CNN. Archived from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- ^ Oludare, Shina (16 May 2021). "Women's Champions League: Barcelona's Oshoala makes history in Chelsea decimation | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ Williams, Tommy. "Meet 30 Inspirational Women This Women's History Month". Forbes Magazine. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
- ^ Ben, David (29 July 2023). "Asisat Oshoala: Super Falcons star sets new record as first African female footballer to reach 1M followers on Instagram". Pulse Sports NG. Retrieved 31 July 2023.