Asisat Oshoala

Asisat Lamina Oshoala, born on October 9, 1994, in Ikorodu, Nigeria, commenced her football career with FC Robo in Nigeria’s lower division before joining Rivers Angels in 2013 for a two-year period. Her talent propelled her to international recognition, leading to her transfer to Liverpool in England’s Women’s Super League in January 2015. Despite a knee injury sidelining her for two months during the 2015 season, she scored three goals in nine appearances. Her performance earned her the BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year award in 2015. In 2016, a transfer bid from Arsenal activated a release clause in her contract, and she subsequently signed with Arsenal in March 2016, contributing to their 2016 FA Women’s Cup victory.

Oshoala moved to Chinese club Dalian Quanjian in February 2017, where she achieved considerable success. During the 2017 season, she scored 12 goals, helping Dalian Quanjian secure the league championship and earning her the Golden Boot award for being the league’s top scorer. She further contributed to the club’s success by scoring four goals in the 2017 Women’s Super Cup, where they defeated Shanghai 5–3. Her impactful play continued, leading the team to a second consecutive league championship in October 2018. Her career then saw a significant move to FC Barcelona Femení in January 2019, initially on a loan deal which was made permanent later that year. At Barcelona, she became the first African player to score in a UEFA Women’s Champions League final in 2019 and later the first African woman to win the UEFA Champions League in 2021, and then three times by 2024. She secured multiple Primera División titles, Copa de la Reina titles, and Supercopa de España Femenina titles with Barcelona, becoming the fourth-highest goal scorer in the club’s history with 117 goals in 162 appearances.

In February 2024, Oshoala joined Bay FC in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), scoring the club’s first-ever goal in her debut match against Angel City. This period marked her transition to another competitive league before a move to Saudi Arabia. In September 2025, she signed a two-year deal with Al Hilal in the Saudi Women’s Premier League. On the international stage, Oshoala has consistently represented Nigeria, earning debut senior caps in a friendly against Japan in 2013. She was named the best player and top goal scorer at the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup and played a pivotal role in Nigeria’s victories at the African Women’s Championship in 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2024. She also became the first African female footballer to amass over a million Instagram followers in July 2023.