Super Falcons striker, Asisat Lamina Oshoala has been nominated for the 2022 Ballon dór Feminine player of the year following her impressive season with Fc Barcelona Femini in the Spanish League.
The reigning Africa women’s player of the year scored 20 goals in just 19 games to share the top scorer award with Geyse Ferreira.
The 27-year-old’s game time was limited last season for three months because of injury but she showed her quality in front of goal whenever she wasn’t injured as Barcelona retained their League title.
The other Ballon d’Or nominees are Marie-Antoinette Katoto (PSG), Millie Bright (Chelsea), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), Ada Hegerberg (Lyon), Selma Bacha (Lyon), Fridolina Rolfo (Barcelona), Vivianna Miedema (Arsenal), Lucy Bronze (Barcelona), Sam Kerr (Chelsea), Christiane Endler (Lyon), Lena Oberdorf (Wolfsburg), Kadidatou Diani (PSG), Catarina Macario (Lyon), Alexia Putellas (Barcelona), Alexandra Popp (Wolfsburg), Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona), Wendie Renard (Lyon), Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave) and Beth Mead (Arsenal).
Lyon’s Ada Hegerberg won the maiden women’s Ballon d’Or back in 2018 while United States Women’s national team star Megan Rapinoe won the honours in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic caused the 2020 ceremony to be cancelled. Oshoala’s teammate, Alexia Putellas emerged as the winner following its resumption last year.
The 66th Ballon D’or ceremony will take place on the 17th of October at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, France.
At the CAF Awards last month, Oshoala was named the African Player of the Year for a record fifth time, adding to her previous wins in 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2019.
The Super Falcons star is expected to lead Nigeria to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Full list: 2022 Ballon d’Or nominees
A 30-man list of nominees for the 2022 Ballon d’Or award has been announced.
Seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, Lionel Messi, was left off the list for this year’s coveted football award.
Messi, who won the title last year, had been an ever-present amongst the nominations since 2006 and a regular feature in the top three since 2007 with the exception of 2018.
The nominees for this year’s Ballon d’Or are listed below:
Thibaut Courtois (BEL, Real Madrid)
Rafael Leao (POR, AC Milan)
Mohamed Salah (EGY, Liverpool)
Joshua Kimmich (GER, Bayern Munich)
Christopher Nkunku (FRA, RB Leipzig)
Trent Alexander-Arnold (ANG, Liverpool)
Robert Lewandowski (POL, Bayern Munich then FC Barcelona)
Bernardo Silva (POR, Manchester City)
Vinicius Junior (BRE, Real Madrid)
Luis Diaz (COL, FC Porto then Liverpool)
Karim Benzema (FRA, Real Madrid)
Fabinho (BRE, Liverpool)
Riyad Mahrez (ALG, Manchester City)
Heung-min Son (CDS, Tottenham)
Casemiro (BRE, Real Madrid)
Phil Foden (ENG, Manchester City)
Harry Kane (ENG, Tottenham)
Sadio Mané (SEN, Liverpool then Bayern Munich),
Darwin Nunez (URU, Benfica then Liverpool)
Mike Maignan (FRA, AC Milan)
Kevin De Bruyne (BEL, Manchester City)
Sébastien Haller (CIV, Ajax then Borussia Dortmund)
Luka Modric (CRO, Real Madrid)
Cristiano Ronaldo (POR, Manchester United)
Antonio Rüdiger (GER, Chelsea then Real Madrid)
Joao Cancelo (POR, Manchester City)
Erling Haaland (NOR, Borussia Dortmund then Manchester City)
Kylian Mbappé (FRA, PSG)
Virgil Van Dijk (HOL, Liverpool)
Dusan Vlahovic (SER, Fiorentina then Juventus).
