Asisat Oshoala is one of the nominees for the 2022 Ballon d’Or award in the women’s category.
The Super Falcons striker is the only African among the 20 nominees for the women’s version of the Ballon d’Or, which honours the best performing players featuring for clubs based in Europe and is widely regarded as the ultimate individual prize in football.
Oshoala was the top scorer in the women’s top flight in Spain last season with 20 goals despite missing many matches with injury.
She became the first African to ever emerge as the highest goal scorer in the league and then followed up with her record fifth African Women’s Player of the Year gong at the CAF Awards in Morocco in July.
Oshoala got injured in Nigeria’s first match at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco in July and missed the rest of the tournament as the Super Falcons lost their title and finished a disappointing fourth, although they qualified for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
She will be vying for the Ballon d’Or with 19 other players, including her Barcelona teammate and current holder Alexia Putellas of Spain, as well as Women’s Euros-winning England trio Lucy Bronze, Sam Kerr and Beth Mead.
In the men’s nominations, Lionel Messi was not included in the long list of 30 players up for the award.
The Paris Saint-Germain superstar is the holder of the award and has won it more than any player in history with seven crowns, but he has no place among the top 30 for the first time since 2006.
However, his rival Cristiano Ronaldo is among the 30, along with African trio Sadio Mane, Riyad Mahrez and Mohamed Salah as well as UEFA Champions League winners with Real Madrid Karim Benzema, Luka Modric, Thibaut Courtois and Vinicius Junior.
Robert Lewandowski, Kylian Mbappe, Liverpool pair Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold as well as Manchester City’s Phil Foden, Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva are also included.
The list will be cut down to a top 10 before the winners are announced in October.
MEN’S NOMINEES
Thibaut Courtois (Belgium, Real Madrid)
Rafael Leao (Portugal, AC Milan)
Mohamed Salah (Egypt, Liverpool)
Joshua Kimmich (Germany, Bayern Munich)
Christopher Nkunku (France, RB Leipzig)
Trent Alexander-Arnold (England, Liverpool)
Robert Lewandowski (Poland, Bayern Munich then FC Barcelona)
Bernardo Silva (Portugal, Manchester City)
Vinicius Junior (Brazil, Real Madrid)
Luis Diaz (Colombia, FC Porto then Liverpool)
Karim Benzema (France, Real Madrid)
Fabinho (Brazil, Liverpool)
Riyad Mahrez (Algeria, Manchester City)
Casemiro (Brazil, Real Madrid)
Phil Foden (England, Manchester City)
Harry Kane (England, Tottenham)
Sadio Mané (Senegal, Liverpool then Bayern Munich),
Darwin Nunez (Uruguay, Benfica then Liverpool)
Mike Maignan (France, AC Milan)
Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium, Manchester City)
Sébastien Haller (Cote d’Ivoire, Ajax then Borussia Dortmund)
Luka Modric (Croatia, Real Madrid)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Manchester United)
Antonio Rüdiger (Germany, Chelsea then Real Madrid)
Joao Cancelo (Portugal, Manchester City)
Erling Haaland (Norway, Borussia Dortmund then Manchester City)
Kylian Mbappé (France, PSG)
Virgil Van Dijk (Holland, Liverpool)
Dusan Vlahovic (Serbia, Fiorentina then Juventus).
