Asisat Oshoala crowned BBC women's footballer of the year

Super Falcons of Nigeria and Arsenal Ladies forward Asisat Oshoala has been crowned the BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year 2015. 

The 20-year-old forward is the first player to win the new award from the BBC World Service, voted for by football fans around the world.

Oshoala who was the leading scorer at the female U20 World Cup in Canada in 2015 won the award ahead of Spain’s Veronica Boquete, German Nadine Kessler, Scot Kim Little and Brazilian Marta. 

The player in a swift, thanked the organisers as well as everyone who voted her. “I would like to say thank you to the BBC, to my fans around the world and to everyone who voted,” she said. 

According to her, the honour will inspire other members of the Super Falcons ahead of the Fifa Women’s World Cup billed for Papua New Guinea later in the year 2016. 

“It’s a really good thing for us as a team because we now know that we have something great and now we want to go at the trophy,” she said. “We can do it, we did it in 2014 we can also do it this year as well. “There is going to be a lot of motivation for women’s football in Nigeria now because of this award because there are a lot of fans out there. “Support for women’s football in Nigeria is now growing very high. “I know my Liverpool Ladies coach is going to be happy right now. Before I left the UK he called me and said to me ‘don’t worry I hope you win the award and we’re going to celebrate it when you come back’.”

Oshoala signed for Liverpool Ladies in January 2015, becoming the first African to feature in the Women’s Super League, with manager Matt Beard calling her “one of the world’s top young footballers”. 

She currently plays for Arsenal Ladies and was part of the team that won the 14th FA Cup title with the Female Gunners, having joined in March 2016.