Asisat Oshoala Nominated for FIFA Ballon d’Or Award

Nigerian forward Asisat Oshoala made it to the 2022 Women’s Ballon d’Or player of the year award shortlist. Oshoala will be battling it out with 20 other players for the esteemed award. If she emerges the winner, she will be announced on October 17 in Paris. The 27-year-old made it to the list thanks to her superb performance for FC Barcelona Femini last season.

If you have been betting on the Primera Division Women, you must have known about Oshoala’s performances. She played 19 matches, scored 20 goals, and provided three assists for her teammates. For starting to bet on Primera Division Women and the most followed leagues, you can check out this bet365 registration guide to help you get started. 

Despite struggling with injury, the Nigerian forward emerged as the joint top scorer in the Primera Division. The other nominees for the Ballon d’Or include Marie-Antoinette Katoto (PSG), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), Millie Bright (Chelsea), Lena Oberdorf (Wolfsburg), Ada Hegerberg (Lyon), Christiane Endler (Lyon), Sam Kerr (Chelsea), Fridolina Rolfo (Barcelona), Lucy Bronze (Barcelona), Selma Bacha and Vivianna Miedema (Arsenal).

Others include Beth Mead (Arsenal), Alex Morgan (Sna Diego Wave), Wendie Renard (Lyon), Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona), Alexandra Popp (Wolfsburg), Alexia Putellas (Barcelona), Catarina Macario (Lyon) and Kadidatou Diani (PSG).

Oshoala’s nomination for the award came three weeks following her declaration as the 2022 African Women’s Player of the Year at the CAF Awards ceremony held in Rabat, Morocco. She won the award beating Ajara Nchout Njoya of Cameroon and Inter Milan and Zambia international Grace Chanda of Zambia and BIIK Kazygurt. She also became the first African to win the esteemed award a record five times.

The Nigerian Ballon d’Or nominee was part of the Super Falcon team that participated in the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. However, she only played in the match where Nigeria lost 2-1 to South Africa. She got an injury that ruled her out for the rest of the tournament. Nigeria did not perform very well in the tournament, as they lost to Zambia in the third-place playoff. In the meantime, the 66th Ballon D’Or ceremony will take place at the Theatre de Chatelet in Paris, France, on October 17.

African football fans will be behind Oshoala, hoping that she overcomes the stiff competition to clinch the prestigious award. What are your thoughts on Oshoala’s chances of winning the Ballon d’Or this year?