When Perpetual Nkwocha capped off her remarkable career by winning the fourth consecutive African Women’s Player of the Year award in 2011, few predicted that she would ever be surpassed....CONTINUE READING
When Nkwocha retired from football in 2015, she was unquestionably the greatest Nigerian/African women’s player of all time, and it seemed unlikely that her accomplishments would be matched or surpassed anytime soon.
The Nigerian athlete Asisat Oshoala has matched, if not surpassed, Nwkwocha’s accomplishments seven (7) years after Nwkwocha’s retirement. Let’s evaluate their success.
Perpetual Nkwocha
1. She has competed in the CAF Women’s Championship eight times with the Nigerian national team (2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014).
2. She has won the African Women’s Championship an incredible six (6) times (2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2010 and 2014).
3. After leading her team to victory against Cameroon in the 2004 final of the African Women’s Championship with four goals, she was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
4. She scored nine (9) total goals in the 2004 Africa Women’s Championship and was awarded the tournament’s most valuable player.
5. Nkwocha has been named the best female footballer in Africa four times (in 2004, 2005, 2010, and 2011).
6. Nkwocha has three (3) times been named Africa’s top female scorer (2004, 2006 & 2010)
7. Nkwocha is a veteran of four Women’s World Cup appearances for FIFA (2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015).
8. She competed in three Olympic events (Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, and Beijing 2008)
9. She is the country’s all-time leading scorer in women’s international competition, having netted 80 times in 99 games for the Super Falcons.
10. Nkwochawa is the first and only African female player to be included in FIFA XI, which was released in 2004.
In 2015, Nkwocha announced her retirement from football.
Assist Oshoala
1. Oshoala has won the African Women’s Championship three times (in 2014, 2016, and 2018).
2. During two of those years, Oshoala took home the competition’s golden boot. (2014, 2016)
3. Oshoala has won the African Women’s Footballer of the Year award five (5) times (2014, 2016, 2017, 2019 & 2022)
4. Since she first played for the Nigerian Super Falcons in 2013, she has scored 29 goals for her country.
5. Oshoala won the best player award and finished with the most goals at the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
6. Also, in the 21/22 season, Oshoala became the first African woman to win the Pichichi Trophy in Spain’s Primera División.
7. Oshoala is the first African woman to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or (7). (2022)
8. Asisat is the first woman from Africa to win the UEFA Champions League (2021).
9. For Liverpool and Arsenal, she made history as the first African woman to play in the English league, and she won the Women’s FA Cup with Arsenal in 2015.
From the Achievements listed above, I think Asisat Oshaola is Nigeria’s Greatest Female football of all time. She is still playing and there is still plenty of records that she will make and break. I might be wrong but let us know who your GOAT is in the comment box.
