- Retires from international duty @ 30
Six-time African Player of the Year, Asisat Oshoala, 30, says she will be calling it quit on the international scene with the female National team, the Super Falcons, after the ongoing WAFCON tournament in Morocco.
The former Barcelona Femeni forward, who announced her decision to retire from international duties for Nigeria on Facebook, said it was a necessary step to pave the way for emerging talents to shine on the global stage.
Oshoala, who currently plys her trade as a striker for National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) club, Bay FC, wrote on Facebook, “At 30, with six African Women’s Best Player awards, I will bow out to start a new chapter after WAFCON 2024/25”.
“Thank you for your unwavering support. I’m forever grateful for the love and sacrifices shared with me through this journey”, she said.
Her illustrious career is adorned with a record six CAF Women’s Player of the Year titles (2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2023), making her the most decorated player in the history of African women’s football.
The Striker’s relentless drive, goal-scoring prowess, and global impact have made her a role model for countless young athletes across the continent.
Oshoala’s professional career has seen her playinh 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, Oshoala became the first African player to score a goal in a UEFA Women’s Champions League final and on 16 May 2021, she entered the history books as the first African woman to win the UEFA Champions League, after Barcelona defeated Chelsea 4–0 in the finals.
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. This is added to emerging the highest goal scorer at the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup and being named the best player at the tournament.
Also, she was named the best player and second highest goal scorer with the Super Falcons team who won the 2014 African Women’s Championship.
Then President Goodluck Jonathan bestowed on her the national honour, Member of the Order of the Niger (MON) in September 2014, while in 2021, she was named in the Forbes 30 Under 30.
She is popularly called “Àgba Baller”, which means in her local parlance, “Legendary Footballer”.
