Nnadozie, Ajibade lead Nigerian quartet in Guardian rankings

Four Nigerian players have earned places in The Guardian’s annual ranking of the 100 best female footballers in the world, with goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie and forward Rasheedat Ajibade leading the charge, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The other two Nigerians to make the list of the British daily newspaper rankings are forwards Gift Monday and Esther Okoronkwo, both appearing for the first time.

Nnadozie returns to the top 100 after narrowly missing out in 2024, slotting in at 65th.

The Brighton & Hove Albion goalkeeper has established herself as one of the finest shot-stoppers globally, with 11 clean sheets for Paris FC last season paving the way for her move to the Women’s Super League.

She played a pivotal role in Nigeria’s successful Women’s Africa Cup of Nations campaign, helping secure her second continental title for the Super Falcons and earning recognition as the tournament’s best goalkeeper.

Nnadozie also finished fourth in the Yashin Trophy voting, becoming the first African women’s goalkeeper to be shortlisted alongside winning the best goalkeeper at the 2025 CAF Awards, as she continues to grow her influence on the international stage.

“It shows that all the hard work, dedication and everything I’ve been doing in the past, has been worth it,” she told Guardian.

The world has been watching. It will make a very big impact in Africa because we have so many good players and they just need the opportunity to show what they can really do.”

Ajibade makes her top 100 debut at 79th, having previously fallen just outside the list at 104th in 2024.

The PSG forward impressed in Spain with Atlético Madrid last season, hitting double figures for goals before joining the French champions over the summer. Her most notable contributions came during the WAFCON, where she captained Nigeria to the title, scoring a decisive goal in the semi-final and being named the tournament’s best player.

Monday of Washington Spirit earned a 97th-place finish following a debut season in the NWSL that included eight goals and a crucial strike in the Championship semi-finals, while Okoronkwo of AFC Toronto, was ranked 98th, becoming the first player from Canada’s Northern Super League to enter the list.

Okoronkwo contributed eight goals and seven assists during the regular season and capped her AFCON campaign with two goals, six assists, and a player of the match performance in Nigeria’s 3-2 final win over Morocco.

Nigeria’s strong representation continues a historic trend for the country. With nine previous entries, at least one Nigerian player has been included in every edition since 2017.

Only Nnadozie and Asisat Oshoala have been nominated more than once, with Oshoala making eight consecutive appearances between 2017 and 2024, though she misses out this year.

The rankings, started by The Offside Rule podcast in 2016 and published by The Guardian since 2018, are determined by a global panel of experts including players, coaches, journalists, and broadcasters.

Judges evaluate a longlist of 450 players and rank their top 40, with points allocated according to position. The final total determines each player’s position in the top 100.

Beyond Nigeria, other African players in the list include Racheal Kundananji, who ranks 100th, while newly crowned women’s African Footballer of the Year Ghizlane Chebbak of Morocco finished 74th.

Zambian striker Barbra Banda, previously ranked seventh in 2024, placed 14th this year and remains the highest-ranked African player so far, with the final top ten yet to be announced.