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Asisat Oshoala
Her parents forbade the game; she became the most decorated player African women's football has produced.
The rise
Born on 9 October 1994 in Ikorodu, on the edge of Lagos, she played street football against her parents' wishes, hiding it from them, and left school for it. She came through FC Robo in Lagos and Rivers Angels before the 2014 Under-20 World Cup in Canada, where she finished both top scorer and best player.
What they did
That tournament took her to Liverpool, then Arsenal, then China, and in 2019 Barcelona, where she won the Champions League and four Spanish titles. She was African Women's Footballer of the Year six times between 2014 and 2023, more than any other player, then moved to Bay FC in the United States in 2024 and Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia in 2025. Her foundation funds girls' football at home.
The full picture
She is at odds with her own federation. She has spoken repeatedly about unpaid bonuses and conditions for the Super Falcons, disputes that reached a threatened boycott at the 2023 World Cup and return tournament after tournament. Her 2025 move to the Saudi league drew criticism of where the women's game now takes its money.
Why it matters
She was told the game was not for girls, went anyway, and became the standard African women's football measures itself against — then spent the money and the standing on the girls coming behind her.
“My parents were my biggest obstacle. They did not want me to play.”