Nigerian women’s football legend Desire Oparanozie has put aside her past differences with national teammate Asisat Oshoala. She is now urging support for Oshoala as the Barcelona star is nominated for a major global award.
In the past, there were rumours that Oparanozie and Oshoala did not get along. This was after Oparanozie spoke out about the Nigerian team not being paid their promised bonuses during the 2019 Women’s World Cup. Even though the issue was resolved, Oparanozie claims she was kept off the team for 3 years after. During that time, Oshoala took over as team captain.
However, Oparanozie now seems to have made peace with her former teammate. She is asking all Nigerians to vote for Oshoala to win the Best Women’s Player award at the upcoming Globe Soccer Awards. Despite their history, Oparanozie shared a voting link on social media asking for support.
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But Oshoala faces strong competition. So far she has only received 6.5% of the votes. Her Barcelona teammate Aitana Bonmati is currently in first place with almost 50% of the votes. Colombian footballer Linda Caicedo is in second at 9.6%.
For Oshoala to win, she needs much more backing from Nigerian fans. Oparanozie is hoping national pride can push her over the top. Though they had issues in the past, she knows Oshoala is now carrying the Nigerian flag on the global stage.
Oparanozie specifically asked Nigerians not to leave “our girl” Oshoala behind on the voting table. Despite former tensions between them, Oparanozie described Oshoala as “our girl” showing her national loyalty.
With more Nigerian votes, perhaps Oshoala can rally to win the Best Player award. Oparanozie has chosen team spirit over personal disputes by asking for support. She puts Nigeria first as Oshoala continues flying high in Europe with Barcelona.
