Rasheedat Ajibade: Named in FIFA’s 13-strong cohort with Putellas

Super Falcons captain Rasheedat Ajibade is one of 13 players chosen for the second edition of FIFA's Player Impact Programme, a nine-month scheme that will put her grassroots health project in front of the world governing body in December.

Ajibade and Zambia's Racheal Kundananji are the only African players in a cohort that also includes Spain's Alexia Putellas, Canada's Jessie Fleming, England's Michelle Agyemang and former India captain Sunil Chhetri, the programme's first male participant, according to FIFA's announcement.

The rest of the group is made up of Casey Phair of Korea Republic, Brazil's Gabi Nunes, Japan's Hina Sugita, France's Kenza Dali, Mexico's Maria Sanchez, USA goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce and New Zealand's Rebekah Stott.

What the programme involves

The scheme helps players turn social impact projects into reality, building on a pilot for women players in 2025. Eleven of the 13 attended a three-day Impact Accelerator Workshop in Boston in June, and the cohort will meet again in London, as well as online, in December to present their projects to their peers.

Ajibade's own work runs through the Rasheedat Ajibade Foundation. Its Rash Hygiene Hub gives health education on hygiene, mental health and personal health to grassroots female footballers in Nigeria. Participants present their projects to FIFA, which may provide seed funding, Afrik-Foot reported.

England forward Agyemang summed up the spirit of the group in FIFA's announcement.

It is also important to give back to the community you come from.

Analysis: Why this matters beyond one captain

Most of the attention on Ajibade comes from what she does on the pitch. This puts the focus on a project aimed squarely at grassroots female players in Nigeria, with FIFA's expertise behind it and the possibility of its funding too.

The company is telling. Sitting in a group of 13 alongside Putellas and Chhetri, as one of only two Africans, puts the Super Falcons captain and her project in front of an audience that rarely looks this closely at the Nigerian women's game.

It also comes in a month when the women's game has given Nigeria plenty to celebrate, with the Flamingos crowned world champions and the Super Falcons lining up a friendly in Algiers with Morocco already in view.

The real measure will come in London in December, when Ajibade presents what the Rash Hygiene Hub can become with that support. If it grows from there, the next generation of Super Falcons could be among the first to feel it.