Asisat Oshoala Missing As Two African Footballers Nominated for Women’s Ballon d’Or

The shortlist did not include any representatives of the country: Super Falcons striker Asisat Oshoala was left off the 30-player shortlist for the 2024 Women’s Ballon d’Or, which France Football published. This is pretty surprising to many, considering how sensational her recent season has been, where she helped Barcelona Feminino win the historic treble-winning season in La Liga Feminino, the UEFA Women’s Champions League title, and the Female Super Cup.

Oshoala is one of the most successful African women footballers, having won the African Women’s Footballer of the Year award a record six times. The latest triumph came hand in hand with Victor Osimhen, who won the men’s version of the award. However, as much as this might be viewed as an uplifting gesture, many have raised eyebrows at her absence from the Ballon d’Or list as the vital part of Barcelona in their 2023/24 season.

However, this may be excused because her playing time was reduced in her last season with the team due to her reduced role. No longer a regular starter, Oshoala played as a part-time player but continued to have great importance at crucial moments that helped Barcelona secure victories in important competitions. Since then, she has moved to Bay FC in the NWSL, marking a new chapter in her club career. On the international front, her form also appeared to dip during the period under review and could have been a reason enough for her exclusion from the shortlist of the Ballon d’Or.

A performance quite decent yet unspectacular by her standards, Oshoala’s outing in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, where Nigeria went up to the round of 16, ensured that she scored once in the tournament but struggled at the Paris 2024 Olympics, failing to register a shot on target during Nigeria’s campaign.

Meanwhile, the shortlist of two African footballers was made: Malawi’s Tabitha Chawinga and Zambia’s Barbara Banda. Both players have been recognized for their outstanding contributions to their respective teams and the sport in its entirety.

Another splendid season has been by Tabitha Chawinga, who moved from Paris Saint-Germain to Lyon. Her inclusion onto the list underlines her growing importance within European women’s football and her contribution to one of the most successful women’s teams in the world.

Then there is Barbara Banda, a rising star in women’s football, currently playing for Orlando Pride in the NWSL. She had cemented history in the Olympics in Paris 2024, scoring a hat trick against Zambia’s thrilling 6-5 loss to Australia-a match that eliminated Zambia from the tournament. What Banda did was unprecedented, given it made her the first player to score three Olympic hat tricks, adding to the two hat tricks she had already scored from Tokyo 2020 Olympics games against China and the Netherlands.

While Oshoala’s Ballon d’Or omission has seen her fans and followers disappointed, Chawinga and Banda’s inclusion marks a milestone of success for African women’s football. Both continue to be an inspiration to young upcoming African footballers through their great accomplishments on the international stage.

Now, with Oshoala off to the next stage in her career in the NWSL, her fans will be watching closely to see how she rises above this setback. Her legacy as one of Africa’s most iconic footballers, despite failing to make the cut this time round, remained very much intact, and doubtless she will go on playing a huge role in the sport for many years to come.