by Mark Bassey

A few people were pleasantly surprised, when Livepool Ladies confirmed they had landed Asisat Oshoala last month.

The explosive 20-year-old capped off what was a great week for her, in which she won the African Footballer of the Year, by completing her transfer from Rivers Angels.

Manager of Liverpool Ladies, Matt Beard, could barely hide his delight.

He said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to have signed Asisat as she is one of the world’s top young footballers. Asisat proved in the U20 World Cup what a top class talent she is and this signing is a big coup for us.

“The Women’s Super League continues to improve year after year so it is vital that we strengthen our squad following last season’s successful title defence. This signing is definitely one that the supporters can be extremely excited about.”

On Thursday this week, Arsenal Ladies also announced the arrival of Chioma Ubogagu from Stanford University.

Like Oshoala, she is a fearsome forward and her stats say it all. In 89 appearances, she scored 27 times and laid on 37 assists – an all-time high.

This two transfers represents a change in the fortunes of Nigerian female players. Gone are the days when they were flung into an obscure League in a Scandinavian country.

These days, they were competiting with the very best, at the highest level.

ifreke

Ifreke Inyang is a public commentator and social media critic who has worked with a number of high profile publications across the country.