Celebrating African Female Football: Ranking The Top 5 Female Players of All Time

Feb 13, 2023 02:00PM ● By Burns Johnson

From the great players of yesteryear to the current crop of stars, Africa has always been a strong presence in the sport. With more and more countries investing in female players in recent years, the women's game has taken off on the continent, and African countries are now beginning to establish themselves as global players.

Let's look at some of the best African female footballers in no particular order;

Asisat Oshoala is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a forward for the Spanish club Barcelona Femení. She has been named B.B.C. African Footballer of the Year thrice in a row, from 2014 to 2016. The Nigerian player began her career with River Angels before moving to Liverpool Ladies in 2014.
After two seasons with Liverpool, she was transferred to the Chinese club Dalian Quanjian F.C. In 2017 and moved to Barcelona. Additionally, she represented Nigeria at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup and 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, winning the African Women's Cup of Nations in 2014 and 2018. She was described as a "natural goal scorer," Oshoala is known for her pace, dribbling ability, and finishing.

Perpetua Nkwocha, the Nigerian football legend, is renowned for her goal-scoring feats, which made her the all-time leading scorer in the African Women's Championship with an impressive 14 goals. This prodigious striker has been further honored for her outstanding achievements - four times as African Player of the Year and once as B.B.C. African Footballer of the Year in 2004. Nkwocha began her illustrious career representing Nigeria's national team, winning two Olympic gold medals and two World Cups. She later moved to Sweden to play for Umeå I.K. and LdB FC Malmö before being named FIFA's honorary ambassador for African football in 2012.

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Noko Matlou is a versatile player who is comfortable playing in any position on the pitch. Her technical ability and vision made her an excellent playmaker, while her speed and power made her a dangerous attacker. She has won numerous awards throughout her career, including Africa Women's Footballer of the Year in 2006 and 2010. In addition to representing her country at the Olympics, World Cup, and Africa Cup of Nations.

Mercy Akide-Udoh was part of the Nigerian team that won the FIFA Women's World Cup in 1999 and the Nigerian team that won the Olympic gold medal in 1996. She was a versatile striker, midfielder, and defender known for her speed, strength, and power.

In conclusion, C.A.F. should balance African football. Women's football has inspired a new generation of female footballers and contributed to growing the game on the continent. It is now widely recognized that African football has become a major force in the women's game, and these players have played a significant role in that success.

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Immanuel Burns Johnson is a young and dedicated social media personnel. He was born, raised and schooled in Lagos, Nigeria. His hobbies include traveling, sports, political criticism and mobile games like C.O.D.M. Apart from these; he is also interested in skydiving and aeronautics. He is skilled in web coding and has a trait of hard work. This has helped him become successful in his field at a young age.

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