Asisat Oshoala Biography And Profile
In spite of the challenges she encounter, her zeal and talents gave her an absurdly high opportunity to become what she wants to be.
There was no genuine point of reference for Asisat to follow any footsteps, but she put her focus on football and left home to pursue her dream at an early age.
She was born into a Muslim family on the 9th of October, 1994. In the Ikorodu suburb of Lagos State. Despite being born and bred in Ikorodu, she started her basic football in Mushin, and this was in total defiance to the stand of her parents.
But nevertheless, Asisat stood her ground and pursued a career in football.
Considering her achievements so far in the round leather game, it’s safe to say that the parents who refused to let Asisat play soccer, would now be proud a parents of a football star.
Asisat had her primary school education at Air Force Primary School in Victoria Island before she moved to Aunty Ayo International School in Ikoyi {Also in Lagos} for her secondary school education, and graduated in 2009.
But right after her Secondary school education, she started her career at Nigerian Lower Division side FC Robo, she was there from 2009 to 2013 before moving to Rivers Angels.
At Rivers Angels, Asisat broke into limelight when she represented Nigeria at the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Canada. She emerged as the top scorer with seven goals and was named the Player of the Tournament.
Her performance helped Nigeria to finish the tournament as the runner-up.
After her stellar performance in Canada, she was named best player and second top goalscorer with the Super Falcons team who won the 2014 African Women’s Championship. By that time, Asisat was already a crowd-pleasing individual on the field of play; and she became a popular name both in Nigeria and overseas.
Her blistering outing in Canada and Namibia didn’t go unnoticed. She was called by Edwin Okon {the then Super Falcons Coach} to the Super Falcons squad to Canada again for the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Canada seems to be Asisat’s stage, as she had a remarkable outing for the Nigerian Female National Team during the World Cup. She opened her goalscoring account for the team when she netted Nigeria’s second goal in a 3–3 draw against Sweden.
But unfortunately for the Super Falcons, they couldn’t make it beyond the first round.
Meanwhile, Oshoala had joined the Liverpool Ladies on January 23 2015 before representing Nigeria in July 2015.
The move to Liverpool made Asisat become the first African Female Footballer to play in the Women’s Super League.
Oshoala’s impressive first season saw her win the BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year award in 2015.
A knee injury ensured that Oshoala missed two months of the 2015 season, which her club side {Liverpool} finished seventh of eight teams.
Having won the league in the previous season.
As if that wasn’t enough, Arsenal activated Asisat’s release clause at Liverpool in 2016, and she became a player for the female side of the North London club.
A year later, {2017} Chinese club Dalian Quanjian F.C. officially signed Oshoala from the North London Female team, during her short spell in China she was the top scorer in the 2017 Superleague.
And in 2019, after a wonderful spell in China, Spanish club FC Barcelona Femení signed Oshoala on a loan deal until the end of the season.
She scored her first league goal against Rayo and weeks later scored in the attendance record-breaking match against Atletico Femeni at the Wanda Metropolitano
She scored Barcelona’s only goal in a 4–1 defeat to Lyon in 2019, becoming both the first-ever Barcelona Femení player and African player to ever score in a UEFA Women’s Champions League Final, apart from being the first Nigerian to score in any UEFA Champions League final, men’s or women’s.
The Camp Nou side announced later in 2019 that Oshoala has signed the dotted lines for full transfer to the club and extension until 2022.
So far, Asisat has done pretty well for herself and family both at her club side and the National team.
She’s currently the captain of the Super Falcons after Desire Oparanozie was stripped of the captaincy when she fell out with some of the bigwigs in Nigerian Football.
Asisat is the most clinical and dangerous goal poacher in the box, she always gets involved in game build-ups to goals and she is constantly threatening defenders and waiting on any slight chance to snatch the ball and score.
Known for her goal-scoring ability and movement off the ball, she is a good dribbler and her height is a constant threat for aerial balls.
Asisat Oshoala Foundation
Oshoala is a good example for aspiring female footballers, with the support of the Lagos state government she set up the Asisat Oshoala Foundation to help youngsters seek after their football dream and give them the necessary chance she never had.
In 2019, Barcelona and Asisat Oshoala signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the official licensee of Barça’s Academy in Lagos, Nigeria.
She facilitated the Football4girls competition in Lagos in December with the intention of bringing aspiring female players to limelight.
Asisat Oshoala‘s Achievements
Nigeria
- African Women’s Championship (4 times): 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019
- FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Runner-up: 2014
- Rivers Angels: Nigerian Women’s Championship: Winner, 2014
- Nigerian Women’s Cup: Winner, 2013, 2014
- Arsenal
- FA Women’s Cup: Winner, 2015–16
- Dalian Quanjian F.C.
- Chinese Women’s Super League (1): 2017
FC Barcelona - Primera División: Winner, 2019-20
- UEFA Women’s Champions League: Runner-up, 2018-19
- SupercopaFemenina: Winner, 2020
- Aiteo CAF Best Player Award 2017(Female Category)
- BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year: 2015
- Queen of The Pitch Award: 2014
- African Women’s Footballer of the Year: 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019
- African Women’s Youth Player of the Year: 2014
- African Women’s Championship Golden Ball: 2014
- African Women’s Championship Golden Boot: 2016
- FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Golden Boot: 2014
- FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Golden Ball: 2014
- Chinese Women’s Super League Top scorer: 2017
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