Best Female Footballers in Nigeria

Best Female Footballers in Nigeria is another article we will be looking out for at 9ja2nice celebrities profile category for the article for the Best Female Footballers in Nigeria – Nigeria female footballers are by far the most successful side on the African continent and with such have produced some incredible talents. Additionally, the female team is the only team in Africa that has appeared in every competition of the woman’s world cup and performed excellently.

The best female footballers in Nigeria, excel not only by words but by their impact on the pitch along with building an excellent career over the years.

So, in this list, we will take a look at the best female footballers in Nigeria in accordance not only to their talent but achievements with their various teams and their impact at the national level over the years.

1. Asisat Oshoala

Asisat Oshoala is a popular name and is considered the best female footballer in Nigeria with tons of achievements in her basket. Popularly nicknamed “Seedorf” after the legendary footballer Clarence Seedorf. While others prefer to call her “Agba Baller” in Yoruba which translates to “Legendary Footballer” in English. Asisat is a legendary football player known for her prowess on the pitch and ability to command the ball.

Furthermore, Asisat is ranked not only as one of the best female footballers in Nigeria but as well as one of the greatest African female footballers of all time and one of the best in the world, and one of the most celebrated of all time.

She has played for the likes of Rivers Angels, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Dalian Quanjian, and currently playing for the Barcelona side. Scoring over 83 goals only for Barcelona, she has registered her name and proved she is truly the best, winning the African Women’s Footballer of the Year a record five times among many other awards.

2. Desire Oparanozie

Desire Oparanozie who is the former captain of the Super Falcon is undoubtedly one of the best female football players Nigeria has got. Oparanozie who started her professional debut at Bayelsa Queens F.C. has since then played for nothing less than 7 professional clubs, all the way from Turkey to Russia to Germany, France, and all the way to China where she currently plays as the forward for Wuhan Jianghan University F.C. Desire even head a popular bus stop named after her during her time with the French side by her fans.

Additionally, she had been a part of Nigeria’s women’s team since 2010, while, appearing in the FIFA women’s world cup 4 consecutive times, from 2011-2023. During her time with the Super Falcons, in which she made 35 appearances, she netted a total of 22 goals, coming behind Asisat Oshoala who had the most goals.

Desire is a brilliant and talented footballer, who made her mark any items she goes, always creating fear in the opponent’s goalkeeper’s net. Having over 80 career goals since her time with the Russian side,  Rossiyanka F.C. in 2012.

3. Rasheedat Ajibade

Rasheedat Ajibade is a Nigerian professional footballer, who is quite famous on and off the pitch. Most people know her as “RASH” picking from the first four letters of her name while others love to call her the “Girl With The Blue Hair”

Rash plays for the Atlético Madrid side on the Spanish as the team forward. Ajibade was named the first on the list of the top promising young African footballers. In addition to playing for the Spanish side, Rash has won numerous awards for her brilliancy on the pitch, such as Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Top Scorer, and Nigeria Women’s Premier League Top Scorer among the many awards in her collection.

Ajibade is a force to reckon with scoring most of the decisive goals to help Nigeria advance in many of the competitions she has played for her country.

4. Chiamaka Nnadozie

Chiamaka Nnadozie is a Nigerian professional footballer who is also the goalkeeper for Paris FC in the French Division 1. Additionally, Chiamaka is regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the whole world as well as the best in Nigeria and Africa as a whole, winning streaks of the man of the match in various competitions.

Known for her great composure and confidence in handling the ball with a stronghold, she played for Rivers Angels in Nigeria before moving to sign with the French side. Her performance in the women’s world cup gained her international attention while she also became the youngest goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet at the World Cup in 2019.

5. Michelle Alozie

Definitely one of the best full-backs in Africa. Michelle Alozie is one the promising Nigerian talent who is also a stopper, defending the ball and guiding against opponents advancing into the team.

Known for being strong and firm on the ball, Alozie has had an incredible career, playing for the Legends FC, Granite Hills Cougars between 2011-2014 before moving to Yale Bulldogs appearing in 49 matches and scoring 19 goals. Aside from playing for the Yale side, she has also played for many other clubs, making considerable achievements before later moving to Houston Dash where she currently plays as the team forward.

Aside from being a footballer, Michelle also has a career as a medical practitioner. She is a fan favorite for the Nigerian national women’s team with many hailing her as a national hero. The American-born was one of Nigeria’s best players at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup as they reached the Round of 16 before England Knocked them out in a penalty shootout.

6. Ashleigh Plumptre

Ashleigh Plumptre is a professional footballer who formerly played for the England youth international team as well as Leicester City before her contract expiration in July 2023. Plumptree, who made her interest known in joining up with the Nigerian National Women’s team is one of the best football players in Nigeria as well as in Africa, playing the centre-back position.

Additionally, Plumptre has played for popular teams like Birmingham City, Derby County, and many other teams winning streaks of competitions and awards for her wonderful and steady composure while on the pitch. Ashleigh Plumptre is one of Nigeria’s most valuable players along with Michelle Alozie with the two named as the best duo fullback by many.

7. Gift Monday

Gift Monday is a talented Nigerian female footballer who has done her country and team proud. She was one of the players that were chosen to represent the Super Falcon of the Nigerian National Women’s team at the FIFA Women’s world cup.

Prior to being chosen to represent the women’s team at the senior level, Gift had captained the U-20 team that went on to win their first gold medal in 12 years during the AFCON competition in 2019 while she had also competed in the FIFA U-20 women cup in 2018.

8. Onome Ebi

A top list of the best female football player in Nigeria is not complete without mentioning the name of the most experienced player among the Nigerian Senior National Womens Team Onome Ebi. Aside from being the captain of the women’s National Team, she has also proven beyond words that she is truly one of the best female football players in Nigeria.

Ebi, who play is currently playing in the Spanish league for FC Levante Las Planas, is the only African player male or female to have appeared in the FIFA World Cup tournament six consecutive times from 2003 to 2023. In addition, she made 103 appearances for Nigeria and scored 3 goals in all on the national level along with tons of awards to her collection.

9. Uchenna Kanu

When talking about a goal machine, then Kanu is the name that comes to mind. The talented Nigerian player who currently plays for Racing Louisville F.C. which is based in Kentucky as the team’s forward is one of the best female football players in Nigeria.

The was a time when she was with Southeastern Fire, she score 157 goals in 78 appearances. Likewise, Uchenna Kanu score 17 goals in 12 appearances for Pensacola FC based in Florida before signing with the Sweden side, Linköpings FC where she made 42 appearances and scored a total of 22 goals.

Moving forward, she signed with UANL which is based in Mexico between 2022-2023, where she also performed her magic by playing a total of 38 matches while she scored a total of 22 goals like. Uchenna Kanu is indeed one of the best.

10. Ifeoma Onumonu

Ifeoma Onumonu is one of the best female football players in Nigeria. Having played in different local leagues in the United States, Onumonu has proven she is made for greatness. Just like Ashleigh Plumptre who had the opportunity to play for the England side, Onumonu also had the opportunity to play for the United State side, having represented the country on the Under-23 Women’s National Team.

Ifeoma was called to represent Nigeria in 2021, a call which she answered and has not regretted taking for one bit. The 2023 world cup was her first to present Nigeria, there’s is, however, more to this beautiful damsel.

Worthy Mentions

Christy Ucheibe

Christy Ucheibe is one player that is worth mentioning, although, she couldn’t make the top 10 in this list, however, it is important to note that the talented player is one formidable force in the Nigerian side. Ucheibe currently plays as a midfielder for the Portuguese side Benfica FC which is the top-level women’s league in Portugal. During the Just concluded campaign of the Super Falcon, the Nigerian National Women’s team in the FIFA Womens World Cup in Australia, Christy Ucheibe showed her prowess on the field, while scoring the penalty shootout against England at the world cup before the Falcon was sent off the competition.

Osinachi Ohale

Another bonus recognition goes to Osinachi Ohale who is a wonderful player. Osinachi plays for the Spanish Liga F club Deportivo Alavés as a center-back or right-back. She has, however, played for approximately 10 teams on 3 continents of the world. Likewise, her years of playing on the pitch earn her one of the most valuable players in the Nigeria National Women’s team as well as one of the best. During the Super Falcon campaign at the 2023 world cup in Australia, her sterling performance earned her man of the match while she also scored the second goal of the game which gave Nigeria the lead against Australia.