Asisat Oshoala Wins BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year Award

Super Falcons of Nigeria forward, Asisat Oshoala has been crowned the BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year. The Liverpool FC of England star became the first player to win the award after she beat Spain’s Veronica Boquete, German Nadine Kessler, Scot Kim Little and Brazilian Marta in a poll conducted by the BBC World Service. The award is the first of its kind hosted by a global broadcaster and voted by football fans around the world. The 20-year-old, who joined Liverpool ladies in January 2015, becoming the first African to feature in the Women’s Super League, thanked the BBC and her fans for the award. “I would like to say thank you to the BBC, to my fans around the world and to everyone who voted,” she said. Oshoala grabbed the headlines last summer when she helped Nigeria’s U-20 female team to the final of the U-20s World Cup in Canada where they narrowly lost to Germany. She was voted the tournament’s leading scorer and best player. She was also part of the Super Eagles team who won a record ninth African Women’s Championship in October. That ensured their qualification for this summer’s World Cup in Canada, which begins on 6th June.