Super Falcons captain Asisat Oshoala speaks on her tough childhood in a new documentary

Super Falcons captain Asisat Oshoala was emotional when she went down memory lane speaking about her journey from the slums of Ikorodu, to the third-rate football pitch in Mushin and now at Barcelona.

In a new documentary, Oshoala speaks on how difficult it was for her to play football as a young woman in Nigeria and the lack of support from her parents.

The 25-year-old is part of UEFA’s Together #WePlayStrong women’s football campaign which kicked off on Tuesday, August 18, 2020.

As part of the campaign, the Nigeria international sat down to narrate her journey in a series of a documentary called Strong Is, which follows the journey of some of the biggest names in women’s football to shine a light on the adversities they have faced and how football has played a key role in their life.

In the documentary, Asisat talks about growing up in an environment where girls expected to be involved in sports.

Without her parents’ support, the forward says she had to hide to play football with her friends after school.

It was only her grandmother who is late now that supported her passion for football, often covering for her anytime she went out to play football.

Speaking about her grandmother got Oshoala emotional in the documentary as she struggled to hold back the tears.

She also speaks on how she got her first club by chance after she was first discovered while playing in a tournament for an unnamed team.

FC Robo, a female club took a chance on her and that was when her story changed. She went on to play for Rivers Angels in Nigeria before she got her big break by signing for Liverpool Ladies.

Joining Liverpool Ladies according to Oshoala was the moment she realised she was going to be a professional footballer.

According to the former Arsenal Ladies forward, she finally got her parent’s approval when she won the Golden Ball and Golden Boot of the 2014 FIFA U20’s Women’s World Cup.

Since then, Oshoala has won the BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year (2015) and has four African Women’s Player of the Year awards to her name.

The forward who now plays for Barcelona Femeni has also won several titles in her career including the Nigeria Women’s Premier League (NWPL) with Rivers Angels, FA Women’s Cup with Arsenal Ladies, the Chinese Women’s Super League with Dalian Quanjian FC and Primera Division with Barcelona.

UEFA’s Together #WePlayStrong campaign is changing perceptions of women’s football among teenage girls and young women by showing the sport as cool and aspirational through its always-on digital content platforms, and by bringing together a social community of young players and fans that are united by their love of football.

UEFA #WePlayStrong’s Strong series aims to send an important message to young girls across Europe, and show how participating in football can increase their confidence, self-esteem and acceptance as an individual.

Watch the video below: