Yes, it’s a fact that the men are all set for the UEFA Champions League final in Madrid in June but did you know that a Nigerian woman played and scored at the UEFA Women’s Champions League final?
Well, Asisat Oshoala has joined football greats like Finidi George, Kanu Nwankwo, Taribo West and Mikel Obi in this feat.
The Nigerian professional footballer plays for Spanish Side, FC Barcelona Femení in the Primera División as a forward.
If you have heard of her, here are things you probably didn’t know about the young football star:
1. Asisat was named best player and was the highest goal scorer at the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
2. She was also named best player and second top goalscorer with the Super Falcons team who won the 2014 African Women’s Championship.
3. She is just 24. Yup, you read right! The young football star has only just begun.
4. Oshoala joined Liverpool Ladies, on January 23, 2015. She was so good that the Liverpool manager, Matt Beard called her “one of the best young players in the world”.
5. In September 2014 Oshoala was made a Member of the Order of the Niger by the then President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan.
6. On June 8, 2015 in Winnipeg, Canada, Oshoala opened her senior FIFA Women’s World Cup account by scoring Nigeria’s second goal in a 3–3 draw with Sweden.
7. Oshoala was also a member of the Super Falcons team who won the African Women’s Championship in 2016 and 2018. She scored three goals in the 2018 Edition in Ghana.
8. Oshoala incurred the wrath of her parents when she dropped out of school to pursue a football career. Now look where she is. Out here, scoring goals, living her best life!
Plus you must have seen her feature in Amstel Malta’s latest campaign, “We’ve Got Balls”.