Nigerian Footballer Asisat Oshoala Dedicates Her Historic UEFA League Cup Win To Young African Girls
Nigerian footballer Asisat Oshoala has once again made history by being the first African woman to lift the UEFA Women's Champions League cup following her historic debut in the European league four years ago.
Nigeria is celebrating Asisat Oshoala, who plays for Barcelona Femini following the wonderous defeat of Chelsea Women's team. 26-year-old Oshoala led her team to victory with less than twenty minutes left of the match. The enthralling match took place this past Sunday at the Gamla Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden. Oshoala's high goal scoring rate has been hailed as a huge contributing factor to the UEFA Women's Champions League (UWCL) final win. The ever-consistent Oshoala dedicated the win to young girls in Africa as a way of inspiring them to continue striving for their dreams.
Oshoala came in the 71st minute as a substitute in a match that saw Barcelona Femini hungry for a win, following a defeat to Lyon in the 2019 final. Oshoala scored the only consolation goal in the match where they were defeated 4-1. The Nigerian captain had started off on the bench but had secured 15 goals by the end of of the league, four of which were scored in nine UEFA matches, according to Pulse Nigeria. Oshoala expressed that her team's win is one she wishes to share with young African girls:
"It's is a great feeling and I can't really put my emotions into words because it has been a tough journey to get here. I hope this will continue to inspire other young girls in Africa and motivate everyone around the world that you can achieve whatever you put your mind to and work hard for it."
Women's soccer admittedly flies under the radar however stars like Oshoala keep raising the standards. According to SoccerNet Nigeria, the Nigerian national team player was recovering from an injury when she made it into the last few minutes of the Women's Champions match and put on a stellar performance.
She won the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Women's Player of the award four years in a row. The striker has come a long way from playing soccer secretly on the streets to hide her passion from her parents. Her parents were initially reluctant to allow her to play football, labelling it as unfit for a woman. In the end, however, they gave her their blessing and she has since continued to break records.
Read: Why are Nigeria's Super Falcons Earning Significantly Less Than Their Male Counterparts?
The UEFA Women's Champion's Cup is just but the latest win for her international career which began four years ago. Her other league wins include the Copa de la Reina, the Supercopa Femenina, and the two Catalunya Femenina cups which she won during her successful three-year stay in Spain. Barcelona Femini wiped out the Chelsea women's team by four goals to zero marking Barcelona Femini's first every victory in the league cup.
