Who Will Be Hailed The BBC Women's Footballer Of The Year?

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The world of football is a male-dominated sport, like basketball. While women soccer players are keen on making their mark on the sport, it can take a long way before women can receive the recognition and earn the spotlight that male football players are having now. Not even the United States government has a female president so far. Football is unlike the fields of nursing and early childhood education where women are the stars. 

However, BBC, the leading British public service broadcaster, particularly its BBC Sports, has been honoring female football players since 2015. That year, they gave out the very first BBC Women's Footballer of the Year award for that female soccer player who embodies everything about the sport from the BBC's perspective. This Bongdalu Links to an external site. story will take a closer look at the five contenders for the award. Let’s begin.

1. Aitana Bonmati - Barcelona

Position: Midfielder

Country: Spain

Age: 26 years old

Bonmati’s success is just all over the place. Her success in this sport does not only bring pride and honor to Barcelona and her team, but also for her entire country, Spain. This versatile soccer player known for her creativity in games has won every possible trophy to be snagged at club level as Barca scored a historic quadruple. 

Moreover, across all four competitions, she scored a career-best 19 goals as Barca clinched its fifth straight league title, the Supercopa, Copa de la Reina, and the Champions League. 

Bonmari, who is also the 2023 Ballon d'Or winner, netted the first-ever goal in Barca’s Champions League final triumph against Lyon. In return, she was hailed the player of the season of the competition. 

She also played a crucial role at the Women’s World Cup in 2023, contributing greatly to Spain winning their first World Cup trophy. She also was one of the key players that catapulted her team to winning its Nations League title in February with four goals, not to mention their 2-0 triumph over France in the final competition. 

She tells BBC how she and her team are “fighting for everything,” starting each season with the mindset that they can win it all. Her team wants to win everything, she adds.

2. Barbra Banda - Orlando Pride

Position: Forward

Country: Zambia

Age: 24 years old

From Spain to all the way in Africa with Banda from Zambia trying to win the award. Will you vote for her?

The continent of Africa is surprisingly amazing in football. In 2010, South Africa was gifted with the opportunity to host the World Cup, and Banda is trying to keep that legacy. 

Believe it or not, Banda took the world by storm when she played at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. She also was a key player during the World Cup in Qatar last 2023. But her best was yet to come when her team Orlando Pride made a deal with China’s Shanghai Shengli last March to sign her in. 

Banda is also the second most-expensive women soccer player, trailing behind her fellow Zambian Racheal Kundananji, and she successfully lived up to this status in America’s top league, the NWSL.

Even if she was signed up for Orlando Pride late in NWSL’s regular season, this striker was able to net 13 goals, allowing her to sit second in the scoring chart of the league. Whoa. 

Talking about her performance at the Olympics, she broke her own record from Tokyo 2021 to Paris 2024 when she scored four goals in the recently held Olympics, becoming the African continent’s all-time scorer in Olympic soccer history with a whopping 10 goals. That’s a lot already.

She tells the BBC how that was a “great moment” for her. 

See what’s upcoming in the world of women’s football on Bongdalu. This website provides scores, match schedules, and more for football tournaments around the world.

3. Caroline Graham Hansen - Barcelona

Position: Winger

Country: Norway

Age: 29 years old

Initially regarded as an underrated player in global football, Hansen did not waste any moment to stun football fans with her performance during the 2023-2024 season. This crafty and cunning Norwegian winger, popular for moving past defenders like a graceful dancer, may have struggled with so much injury throughout her soccer career, but emerged as a star for Barcelona over the previous year. 

As the Spanish team wrapped up with a historic quadruple, the winger racked up a wonderful 60-goal contribution in 40 games. Look at the figures. Impressive, right? 

Hansen also finished Liga F, where Barca triumphed for five times in a row, as the Golden Boot winner on top with 21 goals. Her remarkable strike during the second half of her team’s battle against Chelsea was one of her momentous players, catapulting Barcelona into the finals of the Champions League. The rest is history. 

That was her favorite moment, she said in an interview with the BBC.

4. Naomi Girma - San Diego Wave

Position: Defender 

Country: USA

Age: 24 years old

Girma is breaking stereotypes of what a defender can do. Head football coach Emma Hayes describes her as “the best defender she has ever seen,” this American soccer champion is giving pride to her country. 

This 24-year-old, who has roots in Ethiopia, made history at the beginning of 2024 when she was named the US women’s player of the year, which is a historic feat as she was the very first defender to win this award. 

She played a huge role in leading the USA team to Olympic gold, then for the team’s achievements in the Concacaf Gold Cup and She Believes Cup. She definitely deserves the BBC award. 

Her Ethiopian heritage greatly influenced her football career, she shared with the BBC.

5. Sophia Smith - Portland Thorns

Position: Forward

Country: USA

Age: 24 years old

Last but not least is Portland Thorns’ Sophia Smith. Resembling Disney’s Pocahontas, this 24-year-old stole the Paris 2024 show with her amazing performance. The most important of those was USA’s extra-time win versus Germany in the semi-finals where Smith kept her cool and composure. 

She also proved worthy of the spotlight at the SheBelieves Cup where she scored two goals versus Canada, earning her the MVP title of the tournament. 

With Portland Thorns, she finished with 11 goals during the 2023 regular season as the Golden Boot NWSL winner, which is also record-breaking in itself.

She says she feels “very rewarded” about her performance.

The BBC Women's Footballer of the Year is an yearly award given to what the media believes as best women's soccer player of the year. It’s their 10th award this year. Those five contenders above were chosen by current and professional football players, coaches, managers, journalists, and experts. The winner will be decided upon from global fan voting. You can vote now on the BBC website until October 28th.

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