Rasheedat Ajibade is a professional footballer who plays for the Nigeria women’s national team, the Super Falcons, and the Spanish club Atlético de Madrid in the Women's Primera División.
Ajibade played for Nigeria at age-grade level before making her competitive debut for the women's senior team at the 2018 WAFU Cup in Côte d’Ivoire. She was ranked first among the best 10 young footballers on the African continent in 2017. She is part of the Super Falcons squad in the on-going FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 in Australia and New Zealand.
Rasheedat Ajibade biography
We'll begin Ajibade's biography by looking into her early life, career, achievements and many others.
Rasheedat Ajibade's early life
Ajibade was born on 8 December 1999 in Kaduna State, North-Western part of Nigeria. She grew up in Kaduna, where she had her elementary school education and where people began to see her football talent.
Rasheedat Ajibade club career
Ajibade began her professional career in the Nigeria Women Premier League in the 2013 season as a player for FC Robo. She was in the books of FC Robo from 2013 to 2018.
Ajibade was regarded as one of the league’s top young talents in 2014. She won the Nigeria women’s football freestyle tournament for the second time in a row in September 2018.
Despite her team losing to Confluence Queens in the second week of the 2015 Nigeria Women Premier League, Ajibade was included in Soccerladuma South Africa’s squad of the week.
Ajibade was named FC Robo’s squad captain for the 2017 Nigeria Women's Premier League season. During the 2017 campaign, Rasheedat scored in FC Robo’s victory over Ibom Angels at home.
In order to develop in freestyle football, Ajibade won the inaugural Nigeria National Freestyle Championship. FC Robo did not place first in 2017, yet despite this, Ajibade was chosen as the season’s top player after scoring eight goals to keep her team out of relegation.
She received a Nigeria Pitch Awards nomination in May 2018 for best player in the 2017 Nigeria Women Premier League.
Rasheedat Ajibade reportedly agreed to a two-year contract in December 2018 with the Avaldsnes IL team from Norway.
Rasheedat Ajibade’s two-year contract was revealed by Atletico Madrid on January 1, 2021. Rasheedat Ajibade’s deal with Atletico Madrid was extended by three more years in January 2022, taking it to 2025.
Rasheedat Ajibade performance in the 2023/24 season so far
Rasheedat Ajibade's performance in the 2023-24 LIGA F season reflects her consistent presence on the field, having started four games and coming on as a substitute in two additional matches.
While her statistics may not show a significant number of goals or assists at this point in the season, her role within the team extends beyond pure statistics.
With no goals or assists to her name so far, it's important to recognize that in football, a player's contributions can go beyond scoring and assisting.
Ajibade's work rate, defensive efforts, and ability to create space for her teammates may not always be reflected in the numbers but are invaluable to her team's success.
As the season progresses, Rasheedat Ajibade will likely continue to play a crucial role in her team's performance.
Her dedication and presence on the field provide a solid foundation for both offensive and defensive efforts, and her contributions may well become more apparent as the season unfolds.
Rasheedat Ajibade international career
Ajibade has played under-17, under-20 football and represents the Nigerian women’s national team. She scored twice in Nigeria’s first-leg victory over Namibia in the African qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. Ajibade’s goal gave Nigeria a two-goal victory over Mexico in the last group match, securing a quarterfinal meeting with Spain.
The 2016 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup squad for Coach Bala Nikiyu included Ajibade, who wore jersey number 10. Ajibade served as Nigeria’s captain during the competition.
She represented Nigeria at the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, and in the second group match against Canada, she was selected player of the match.
Ajibade scored twice against Tanzania in the first leg of their first-round match to select Africa’s participants at the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, giving Nigeria a three-goal lead going into the second leg in Dar es Salaam.
In the second leg in October 2017, Ajibade scored twice as Nigeria defeated the host team. She scored twice on January 27, 2018, as Nigeria defeated South Africa by a score of six, securing their qualifying for the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in France.
Ajibade, Joy Jegede, Osarenoma Igbinovia, and 18 other players were chosen by head coach Thomas Dennerby to represent Nigeria at the WAFU Cup’s first match in Côte d'Ivoire in February 2018.
Ajibade scored a hat-trick in Nigeria’s final group match to go to the semi-finals of the regional tournament.
The Nigeria women’s national team, of which Ajibade was a member, won the 2018 African Nations Championship. In a 1-0 friendly victory over Slovenian club Olimpija Lubijana in Vienna, Austria, she led the Super Falcons for the first time.
In 2022, during the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, Ajibade, alongside prominent Nigerian female players like Asisat Oshoala, Francisca Ordega, Desire Oparanozie, played wonderfully well and became the talk of the town.
On 16 June 2023, she was included in the 23-player Nigerian squad for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023.
Rasheedat Ajibade achievements and awards
Rasheedat Ajibade team achievements
- 2022: Women’s Africa Cup of Nations – Third Place
- 2021: Supercopa de Espana – Champions
- 2018: Women’s Africa Cup of Nations – Champions
- 2018: WAFU Women’s Cup – Third place
- 2014: FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup – Quarterfinals
Rasheedat Ajibade individual awards
- 2018: WAFU Women’s Cup Second Top Scorer
- 2018: Nigeria Football Federation Young Player Of The Year
- 2017: Nigeria Women Premier League Top scorer (jointly held with Reuben Charity)
- 2017: Nigeria Pitch Awards – Nigeria Women Premier League Player of the Season
- 2017: League Bloggers Award Nigeria – Women Premier League Player of the Season
Rasheedat Ajibade net worth
According to sources in the public domain, her net worth is approximately US $5 million. Ajibade gets most of her money from football and her Yeezy sneakers business.
Rasheedat Ajibade salary
Reports say Ajibade earns €578,500 annually as a player for Atletico Madrid Femenino.
Rasheedat Ajibade husband
At the time of writing, Ajibade is not married as she's still focused on her football career.
Rasheedat Ajibade religion
At first glance, her name reveals her religion. She's a Muslim.
Rasheedat Ajibade social media handles
Ajibade has a verified account on both Instagram and Twitter. At the time of writing, she has 147,000 followers on Instagram, while on Twitter, she has over 86,000 followers. You can follow her through the following social media handles.
Instagram: @rasheedatt10
Twitter: @Rasheedat08
Ajibade has been a mentor for many young girls across Nigeria and Africa who love to pursue a career in football.
At the time of writing, Ajibade is with Nigeria's Super Falcons in Australia/New Zealand for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup scheduled to begin on 20 July.
You can watch the Super Falcons FIFA world cup matches live in Nigeria as the players square off against their opponents in Group B.
The Super Falcons will start their campaign against Canada on 21 July before facing Australia and Ireland.
This article was most recently revised and updated 6 days ago
