2023 Ballon d’Or nomination delights Asisat Oshoala

Super Falcons striker, and 2023 Ballon d’Or nominee, Asisat Oshoala, has expressed her delight at being nominated for the 2023 Ballon d’Or award, Soccernet.ng reports.

The twenty-eight-year-old forward led Barça Femení to another Liga F triumph and was third in the goalscoring charts, only behind Spain’s Alba Redondo, and Zambian Rachael Kundananji.

Asisat scored twenty-one goals in the League and set up her teammates three times. Redondo scored twenty-seven goals, while Kundanji scored twenty-five goals.

A spirited performance from the bench at the 2023 Women’s World Cup against Australia saw Asisat lead the Super Falcons to a comeback against the host, as they went on to the round of sixteen.

In that game, she had a goal and was involved in the eventual winning goal, and her performances on all fronts didn’t go unnoticed.

In all competitions, she had twenty-seven goals and six assists, and she’s delighted to have another shot at the prestigious Ballon d’Or award, after helping her team a historic treble last season with the climax being the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

“I’m very happy about the nomination and excited for what’s to come. I had a tough end to the season, but I think I worked last year and I’m really happy I was able to get on the nomination list again for another year of hard work,” Oshoala told The MTN Super Falcons Show.

Oshoala’s academy in Nigeria put her in the global spotlight as she was nominated for the prestigious Sócrates Ballon d’Or Award for her humanitarian contributions.

The Asisat Oshoala Academy (AOA), in Nigeria, aims to provide young girls with access to high-quality football training and life skills education.

“Obviously, this is one of the goals, to be able to help the younger generations that are coming up, to be able to give them an opportunity to be able to showcase their talent and this is what it’s all about in the Asisat Oshaola Academy and foundation.”

Asisat mentioned that she didn’t expect her academy project to get worldwide recognition, but she’s glad she has been able to encourage people with what she’s doing.

“I’m so happy that our work is actually showing the world these things and the world is actually taking record of it as well. Even though we didn’t think it would get to this point, we have a nomination, and even I personally, have one for myself.”

With two nominations for the award that will take place on the 30th of October,, 2023, Asisat encouraged listeners to always follow their dreams, irrespective of counter opinions. She added;

“I’m really happy about these two nominations and I really hope it can encourage someone out there to keep doing what they love to do, don’t listen to people.

“You will be discouraged at some point, but at the end of the day, it’s all about you and the people that actually look up to you.”

From the streets of Lagos, to being a beacon of inspiration for young girls to see, Asisat continues to fuel the dreams of young girls aspiring to be footballers with her performances on and off the pitch.