Forward departs Barcelona, signs contract through 2026 with option for 2027 season.
San Francisco (Feb. 1, 2024) – Bay FC, the Bay Area’s new women’s professional soccer franchise in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), have acquired the rights to Nigerian international Asisat Oshoala through a transfer with FC Barcelona Femení of Liga F in Spain in exchange for a transfer fee, the club announced today. Following the transfer, the forward was signed to a contract through the 2026 season with an option for the 2027 campaign. She will join the team and be added to the roster pending the receipt of her P-1 visa and International Transfer Certificate (ITC). Oshoala will occupy an international roster spot.
“To have the opportunity to add a player of Asisat’s quality, experience and winning pedigree to our roster is an exciting and important day for the club and the NWSL,” said Bay FC General Manager Lucy Rushton. “She brings a top-class mentality to the field combined with pace and technical ability that allows her to lead the line, while also giving those players around her the license to be creative and thrive in space. Asisat is a proven goal scorer at the most elite levels of World football, and she comes here to continue that with Bay FC.”
At Barcelona across five seasons (2019-23), Oshoala scored 107 goals in 149 appearances, including a record-setting season in 2022, when she was the joint top scorer in the league with 19 goals. The two-time Ballon D’or nominee led the team in scoring three times, helping the club win the UEFA Women’s Champions League twice (2020-21, 2022-23), earn four league titles, three Spanish Super Cups and the Copa de la Reina three times. She became the first African woman to the win the UEFA Champions League final in 2021 and the first African woman to score in the Champions League final in 2019.
Professionally, she began her career in Nigeria with Rivers Angels FC before making the move to Europe and signing with Liverpool on Jan. 23, 2015. Oshoala spent time with Liverpool and Arsenal, winning the 2016 FA Cup with Arsenal before signing with Chinese club Dalian in Feb. 2017. She won two league titles in China (2017, 2018) and went on loan to Barcelona on Jan. 31, 2019, before making the permanent move in May 2019.
A six-time African Women’s Footballer of the Year, Oshoala has appeared in three FIFA Women’s World Cups (2015, 2019, 2023) with Nigeria, helping the team advance to the Round of 16 in both the 2019 and 2023 tournaments. As a youth international, she was the Golden Ball and Golden Boot winner at the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, scoring seven goals in the tournament.
Asisat Oshoala
Position: Forward
Height: 5-7
Birthdate: Oct. 9, 1994
Hometown: Ikorodu, Nigeria
Previous Club: Barcelona (Spain)
Citizenship: Nigeria
Ticket deposits are now open for Bay FC’s inaugural season and new merchandise can be purchased at BayFC.com. Fans can also follow @wearebayfc on social channels for more exciting announcements to come.
About Bay Football Club
Bay Football Club (Bay FC) is the new women’s professional soccer franchise representing the Bay Area and the 14th team to join the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). Bay FC was established in April 2023 and co-founded by USWNT legends Brandi Chastain, Leslie Osborne, Danielle Slaton, and Aly Wagner in partnership with global investment firm Sixth Street and an investor group of leading tech, business and sports executives. Sixth Street’s investment is the largest institutional investment to date in a women’s professional sports franchise. Bay FC is changing the face of women’s soccer as we know it. Beginning play in the 2024 season, we are building a squad that will play the beautiful game with power, passion, energy, and creativity. Ticket deposits are now open for Bay FC at https://bayfc.com and fans can follow Bay FC’s social channels (@wearebayfc) for the latest news, merchandise, and events.
