By Dayo Awoniyi
Nigeria captain Rasheedat Ajibade has written her name into the history books by claiming her third Player of the Match award at the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), following Nigeria’s hard-fought 2–1 semi-final victory over South Africa on Tuesday.
Ajibade opened the scoring for Nigeria with a composed penalty before Michelle Alozie doubled the lead with what ultimately proved to be the match-winner.
The result sends the nine-time champions into yet another WAFCON final and marks their first win over South Africa in the competition since 2016.
The victory also avenges recent WAFCON defeats at the hands of Banyana Banyana, who had beaten Nigeria 1–0 in the group stage of the 2018 edition and 2–1 in 2022.
Ajibade, who previously earned Player of the Match honors in group stage wins against Botswana and Zambia, is now the only player to have received the accolade three times at the ongoing tournament.
Her consistent performances and leadership have been instrumental to Nigeria’s campaign, as the Super Falcons aim to reclaim the continental title.
With one game remaining, Ajibade is now just a win away from lifting the trophy as captain—an achievement that would further cement her legacy in Nigerian football.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He began his career at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
