AFRICA’S 25 Best Athletes of the 21st Century list, which was compiled by ESPN features Super Falcon star, Asisiat Oshoala and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) star, Israel Adesanya.
The list released by ESPN features top athletes in Africa, which includes football stars such as Samuel Eto’o, Yaya Toure, Didier Drogba, Mohamed Salah, and Sadio Mane.
While athletics greats such as Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopia), Caster Semenya (South Africa), Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya), and Tirunesh Dibaba (Ethiopia) among others were listed.
Commenting on Oshoala, ESPN wrote: “Oshoala, who currently plays for Bay FC in the NWSL, has taken African women’s football to new heights. The Nigeria striker has been the African Women’s Player of the Year a record six times, thanks in large part to her stellar five seasons with Barcelona.
“Her 92 league goals for Barça came at a rate of roughly one every 65 minutes. There, she won the Spanish Primera Division four times, and the UEFA Women’s Champions League thrice. For Nigeria, she’s been part of the Super Falcons side that won the African title three times, and is set to represent the Super Falcons again at the Paris Olympics.“
In its remarks on Adesanya, ESPN said: “Born in Lagos, although he moved to New Zealand aged 10 after a brief stint living in Ghana, Adesanya dominated the middleweight division of the UFC from 2019-2022, finally losing to Alex Pereira in November 2022 before beating him in a rematch five months later.
“Adesanya lost his belt again to Sean Strickland later that year but has a chance to win it back against South Africa’s Dricus du Plessis at UFC 305 on August 17 in Perth.
Other Nigerians on the list include former Nigeria international, Perpetual Nkwocha, MMA star Kamaru Usman and American Football star Osi Umenyiora.
