Who is Rasheedat Ajibade?
Born on December 8, 1999, Rasheedat Ajibade OON is a Nigerian professional football player who plays forward for both the Nigeria women’s national team and Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Liga F.
Before making her competitive debut for the senior team at the 2018 WAFU Cup in Côte d’Ivoire, Ajibade competed for Nigeria at the age-grade level. She was ranked #1 in Goal.com’s 2017 ranking of the top 10 young football players on the African continent.
Early Life
From the 2013 Nigeria Women’s Premier League season to the 2018 campaign, Ajibade was a member of FC Robo. She was named one of the league’s top young stars in 2014. She won the Nigerian women’s football freestyle tournament for the second time in a row in September 2018.
Even though her club lost to Confluence Queens in the round of matches, Ajibade was named to Soccerladuma South Africa’s squad of the week for the 2015 Nigeria Women Premier League week two games. In 2017, Ajibade was appointed FC Robo’s team captain for the Nigeria Women Premier League season. During the season, Ajibade scored a goal in Robos’ victory over Ibom Angels at home.
After losing to the visiting Rivers Angels on July 13, 2017, Rasheedat Ajibade was cited by SuperSport as lamenting her team’s prospects of making it to Super 4 due to the disparity in points and the little number of games left. In an effort to promote freestyling football, Ajibade became victorious in the inaugural Nigeria National Freestyle Championship. Ajibade won player of the season in 2017 after scoring eight goals to keep her side from going down, even though Robo wasn’t one of the winning teams. She received a nomination at the Nigeria Pitch Awards in May 2018 for best player of the 2017 Nigeria Women Premier League.
According to reports, Ajibade inked a two-year deal with the Toppserien team Avaldsnes IL in Norway in December 2018. Rasheedat Ajibade’s two-year contract with Atletico Madrid was revealed on January 1, 2021. Rasheedat Ajibade’s contract with Atletico Madrid was extended in January 2022 for an additional three years, until 2025.
Rasheedat Ajibade International Career
Rasheedat Ajibade has played for Nigeria’s senior national team, under-17 team, and under-20 team. On the way to the 2014 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, Nigeria defeated Namibia in the opening leg of the African qualifiers thanks to two goals from Ajibade. Ajibade scored the game-winning goal in Nigeria’s opening match against China at the actual competition. Ajibade scored a goal in Nigeria during the last group match against Mexico, and the team won by two goals to guarantee a quarterfinal matchup with Spain.
Ajibade, who wore jersey number 10, was selected for the 21-man roster of Coach Bala Nikiyu for the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. As Nigeria’s captain throughout the tournament, Ajibade talked to FIFA.com on the team’s resolve to improve on their 2014 quarterfinal result. Ajibade was selected man-of-the-match in the second group match against Canada while playing for Nigeria in the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
Ajibade’s brace in the first leg match against Tanzania gave Nigeria a three-goal lead ahead of the return leg in Dar e Salaam in the first round match to decide Africa’s representative at the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. Ajibade scored two goals in Nigeria’s six-goal victory over the home team in the return leg in October 2017. Ajibade scored two goals in Nigeria’s six-goal victory over South Africa on January 27, 2018, which guaranteed Nigeria’s spot in the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in France.
Head coach Thomas Dennerby chose Ajibade, Joy Jegede, Osarenoma Igbinovia, and eighteen other players to represent Nigeria in the first WAFU Cup in Côte d’Ivoire in February 2018. With one game remaining, Ajibade’s hat-trick in the second group round of the regional tournament advanced Nigeria to the semi-finals.
Rasheedat Ajibade was a member of the Nigerian women’s national football team, which won the 2018 African Nations Championship. In Vienna, Austria, she captained the Super Falcons for the first time in a 1-0 friendly victory over Olimpija Lubijana, a Slovenian club.
Ajibade received a call-up to the Nigerian team for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup on May 24.
She was selected to play for Nigeria at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in 2022.
She was added to Nigeria’s 23-player roster for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 on June 16, 2023.
Ajibade scored a vital penalty for the Super Falcons against South Africa during their Olympic qualifying match for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Nigeria qualified for the competition, which starts in July 2024, thanks to this victory.
Nigeria’s roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics included Ajibade.
At the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, Ajibade led the Nigerian squad as captain. They defeated hosts Morocco 3-2 to win the championship on July 26, 2025. Player of the Tournament went to her.
Personal Life
The yearly #StandOutWithRASH campaign was started by Rasheedat Ajibade in the summer of 2020 in collaboration with EaglesTracker, a top athlete branding business in Nigeria. The goal of this social media campaign is to highlight Nigerian football players at the grassroots level. Rasheedat Ajibade uses her social media platform to give young football players who demonstrate how they stand out on the field visibility, support, and football boots, jerseys, and cash awards.
Additionally, she introduced her official brand, RASH, which offers customers an exclusive merchandise line that they can buy online. In Nigeria, the brand is also active in a number of additional initiatives.
Recently, the Rasheedat Ajibade Foundation partnered with The Balm InfusClinic to conduct a medical outreach program aimed at football players, teaching them life-saving skills. FC Robo Queens and Ighalo Football Academy received CPR and first aid training as part of the program, which was held in Lagos, Nigeria. Rasheedat Ajibade, a star of Atletico Madrid, founded the organization with the intention of empowering young people in Nigeria. She is well-known for her accomplishments in football, which include playing for Nigeria’s national team and winning with Atletico Madrid. Her foundation shows that she is dedicated to both sports and community empowerment.
Rasheedat Ajibade Faith
As a devoted Christian, Rasheedat Ajibade donned a t-shirt with the words “Thank You Jesus” inscribed underneath her jersey after scoring a goal for the national team in a 2022 match.
Other Works
After being named a Pluralcode brand ambassador, Rasheedat Ajibade established the RASHxPluralcode Tech Scholarship in March 2023. This scholarship program, which is in collaboration with Pluralcode Academy, offers free tech training in Web development and UI/UX design to 60 Nigerians every year.
Rasheedat Ajibade Net Worth
Ajibade’s football career and her Yeezy shoe business are the main sources of her projected $5 million US net worth.
Honours
Atlético Madrid
- Copa de la Reina: 2022–23
- Supercopa de Espana: 2020–21
Nigeria
- Women’s Africa Cup of Nations: 2018, 2024
- WAFU Women’s Cup third place: 2018
Individual
- Officer of the Order of the Niger
- Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Player of the Tournament: 2024
- Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Top scorer: 2022
- Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament: 2022, 2024
- Toppserien Team of the Season: 2020
- League Bloggers Award NWPL Player of the Season: 2017
- Nigeria Pitch Awards NWPL Player of the season: 2017
- Nigeria Women Premier League Top scorer: 2017 (jointly held with Reuben Charity)
- Nigeria Football Federation Young Player Of The Year: 2018
