Women’s soccer in Africa has come a long way, and the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco is the perfect stage to showcase just how far the continent has come.
Gone are the days when Nigeria solely dominated the African Women’s Cup of Nations, as South Africa, Zambia, Malawi, and Morocco have all emerged as genuine forces in the game.
In this article, TOP SOCCER BLOG brings you the top 20 best women’s soccer players in Africa in 2026, counting down from 20 to 1, with number 1 being the best.
From the best women’s football leagues in the world to the NWSL, Liga MX, and the Saudi Women’s Premier League, African players are now competing and excelling at every level of the global game.
Top 20 Best Women’s Soccer Players In Africa (2026)
20. Grace Asantewaa (Ghana) — Club Juárez
Grace Asantewaa is one of Ghana’s most important players heading into WAFCON 2026 and a midfielder who has impressed with her work rate, technical ability, and composure in the Mexican women’s league with Club Juárez.
The 25-year-old has established herself as a consistent performer in Ghana’s squad and a player ESPN highlighted as one of the key figures for the Black Queens as they look to make their mark on the continental stage in Morocco.
19. Fatima Tagnaout (Morocco) — AS FAR
Fatima Tagnaout is one of Morocco’s most important and reliable attacking players, a forward who has been a cornerstone of the Atlas Lionesses setup for years.
The AS FAR forward has won multiple Moroccan Women’s Championship titles with her club and been a key contributor to Morocco’s national team campaigns across continental competitions, combining technical quality with the goal threat that makes her such a dangerous player in transition.
As part of the host nation’s squad at WAFCON 2026, she will be one of the players most motivated to deliver on the biggest stage.
18. Hildah Magaia (South Africa) — Deportivo La Coruña
Hildah Magaia is one of South Africa’s most important attacking players and a forward who has maintained a high level of performance across multiple leagues throughout her career.
The 31-year-old is currently at Deportivo La Coruña in Spain’s Liga F in 2025/26, having previously played in Mexico with Club Tijuana where she scored 4 goals in 13 Liga MX Femenil appearances in 2024/25, and she brings valuable European experience to Banyana Banyana’s attack at WAFCON 2026.
17. Hajar Saïd (Morocco) — Paris FC
Born on May 22, 2005, Hajar Saïd is one of the most exciting young talents in African women’s football and her inclusion in Morocco’s WAFCON 2026 squad at just 21 years old tells you everything about the level she is at.
The Paris FC midfielder has impressed in the Première Ligue with her composure on the ball, her movement in tight spaces, and her vision in the final third, and she has quickly become one of the most talked-about young African players in French women’s football.
She is the future of Moroccan women’s football and a player to watch not just at WAFCON 2026 but for the next decade.
16. Christy Ucheibe (Nigeria) — SL Benfica
Christy Ucheibe has been one of the most consistent Nigerian players in European women’s football over the past three seasons, and her performances for SL Benfica in 2025/26 continue to underline why she is such a valued member of the Super Falcons squad.
The midfielder combines defensive discipline with the ability to drive forward and contribute in attack, and she is listed in Nigeria’s confirmed WAFCON 2026 squad as one of the key engine room players who will protect the defence and supply the forwards.
15. Francisca Ordega (Nigeria) — Al-Ittihad
Francisca Ordega is one of Nigeria’s most experienced international players and a winger who has lost none of her pace and directness despite being in the latter stages of her career.
Now in the Saudi Women’s Premier League with Al-Ittihad, Ordega continued to contribute in 2025/26, providing a key assist in Al-Ittihad’s 2-1 victory over Al Qadsiah, and she remains one of Nigeria’s most dangerous attacking options when given space to run at defenders.
14. Esther Okoronkwo (Nigeria) — AFC Toronto
Esther Okoronkwo was described by ESPN as one of the most important players in Nigeria’s WAFCON title win in 2025, and her form at AFC Toronto in the Northern Super League has backed up that assessment.
The forward scored 2 goals in a 2-1 victory over Calgary Wild in May 2025 to help the club record their first ever league win, scored a hat-trick in a 4-1 playoff semi-final win over Montreal in November 2025, and signed a contract extension with the club through 2027 in January 2026 before scoring in the opening game of the 2026 NSL season.
13. Michelle Alozie (Nigeria) — Chicago Stars
Michelle Alozie is one of the most consistent defenders in the NWSL and a player who scored a crucial goal in the semi-finals of the 2024 WAFCON, helping Nigeria win the title.
The right-back joined Chicago Stars on a three-year deal in December 2025 after five seasons with the Houston Dash, where she made 80 appearances across all competitions, and has started the 2026 NWSL season as one of the most dependable defenders in the league.
She is a regular starter for the Super Falcons and one of Nigeria’s most important defensive assets heading into WAFCON 2026.
12. Refiloe Jane (South Africa) — TS Galaxy Queens
Refiloe Jane is the captain of South Africa and one of the most important players in the history of Banyana Banyana, a midfielder who earned her 150th international cap in a 1-0 friendly victory over Japan in Osaka on June 9, 2026, becoming one of the most capped African women’s players of all time.
She signed for TS Galaxy Queens in March 2025 after returning from a 10-month injury layoff, immediately reclaimed her place in the national team, and led South Africa to the semi-finals of WAFCON 2025 as captain.
Her leadership, tactical intelligence, and reading of the game make her irreplaceable in South Africa’s midfield, a team that has grown into one of the best women’s national soccer teams in Africa.
11. Linda Motlhalo (South Africa) — Glasgow City
Tagged the Randfontein Ronaldinho, Linda Motlhalo has more than lived up to that nickname as one of South Africa’s most technically gifted and creative players.
The Glasgow City winger scored 2 goals in 1,535 minutes of SWPL action in 2025/26 and was described by ESPN as “the player most impossible to ignore” after her standout display against Ghana at the 2025 WAFCON, where she scored a penalty and pulled the strings in midfield throughout.
She brings flair, experience, and quality to South Africa’s attack alongside some of the best female football defenders on the continent, making Banyana Banyana one of WAFCON 2026’s most complete sides.
10. Jennifer Echegini (Nigeria) — Paris Saint-Germain
Jennifer Echegini is one of the most promising young forwards in African women’s football and has made a strong impression at PSG in 2025/26.
The Super Falcons forward has been a key creative contributor alongside compatriot Ajibade at PSG, providing crucial assists including setting up the equaliser in a 2-1 win over Nantes and scoring twice against Dijon, and at just 25 years old she is only getting started at one of the world’s biggest clubs.
9. Ghizlane Chebbak (Morocco) — Al-Hilal
Ghizlane Chebbak is the captain of Morocco and the most decorated player in Moroccan women’s football history, a ten-time Moroccan Women’s Championship winner and CAF Women’s Champions League winner who now plays for Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia.
As captain of the host nation at WAFCON 2026, she carries the weight of an entire country’s expectations on her shoulders, and her experience at the highest level of the game makes her Morocco’s most important player.
8. Racheal Kundananji (Zambia) — Bay FC
Racheal Kundananji has changed the game for African women’s players in the NWSL and the numbers confirm it.
The Zambia forward scored 4 goals and 4 assists for Bay FC in 2025, ranked among the league leaders in shots on target with 27, and scored 9 international goals for Zambia in 2025 alone, including the winner in their 1-0 WAFCON qualifying victory over DR Congo.
She was nominated for CAF Women’s Player of the Year 2025 alongside Barbra Banda and Temwa Chawinga, a recognition that places her firmly among the elite of African women’s football.
7. Rasheedat Ajibade (Nigeria) — Paris Saint-Germain
Rasheedat Ajibade captains Nigeria, wears the number 10 shirt at Paris Saint-Germain, and carries the weight of both with the composure of a seasoned leader.
The midfielder joined PSG in the summer of 2025 after four successful seasons at Atletico Madrid, where she made 25 appearances with 8 goals and 3 assists in her final campaign, and she was named Player of the Tournament at WAFCON 2025 having twice led Nigeria to continental glory in 2018 and 2024.
6. Chiamaka Nnadozie (Nigeria) — Brighton
Chiamaka Nnadozie is the best goalkeeper Africa has produced in a generation and one of the best in the world at her position.
The Nigerian joined Brighton in July 2025 and immediately impressed in the Women’s Super League, recording a FotMob average rating of 7.41 across the season and producing match-winning displays that confirmed her status as one of the best goalkeepers in female football and one of the best female soccer players in the world.
She is the reigning CAF African Goalkeeper of the Year and the undisputed first choice between the posts for the Super Falcons.
5. Thembi Kgatlana (South Africa) — Tigres UANL
Thembi Kgatlana has made herself at home in Mexico and Liga MX Femenil has made her better.
The South Africa forward scored 11 goals in the Liga MX Femenil Apertura 2025/26 for Tigres UANL and has become a fan favourite, with her pace, directness, and clinical finishing making her one of the most dangerous forwards in Mexican women’s football.
The CAF African Women’s Footballer of the Year 2019 is still producing at the highest level and arrives at WAFCON 2026 in outstanding form.
4. Barbra Banda (Zambia) — Orlando Pride
Barbra Banda is the captain of Zambia, the NWSL title winner with Orlando Pride, a FIFPRO Women’s World 11 player, and the BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year 2024.
She suffered a serious hip abductor injury in August 2025 but returned in March 2026, immediately scoring three goals in her first three games back and earning a place in the NWSL Team of the Month, one of the most impressive comebacks in African women’s football history.
She arrives at WAFCON 2026 fighting fit and ready to remind the continent why she is considered one of the very best.
3. Temwa Chawinga (Malawi) — Kansas City Current
The Chawinga sisters are the most remarkable sibling story in African women’s football, and Temwa is making her own mark in the NWSL that has nothing to do with her famous older sister.
The Kansas City Current forward won the NWSL MVP award, broke the league record for consecutive goals, and scored 15 goals before October 2025, making her one of the most feared strikers in North American women’s football.
She arrives at WAFCON 2026 as one of the tournament’s most anticipated players and the sister partnership in Malawi’s attack is the most exciting in the competition.
2. Tabitha Chawinga (Malawi) — Lyon
Tabitha Chawinga had the best individual club season of any African woman in 2025/26 and it is not particularly close.
The Malawian forward was Lyon’s top scorer with 17 goals across all competitions, averaging a goal involvement per game with 13 goals and 5 assists in 18 Première Ligue matches, and her club won the league, the Coupe de France, and reached the UEFA Women’s Champions League final.
She is the first Malawian to be a consistent starter at the biggest women’s club in the world and one of the most lethal forwards in European women’s football.
1. Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria) — Al-Hilal
The conversation about the best women’s soccer player in Africa always begins and ends with the same name.
Asisat Oshoala is a six-time CAF Women’s Player of the Year, the only player in history to win the award that many times, and in 2025/26 she has recorded 12 goals and 4 assists for Al-Hilal in the Saudi Women’s Premier League with a FotMob average rating of 7.85, one of the highest of any African player in any league this season.
One of the best women’s soccer players of all time and among the highest paid women’s soccer players in the world, Oshoala heads to WAFCON 2026 as the player every opponent fears most.
Honourable Mentions
- Gift Monday, Nigeria, Washington Spirit, one of the NWSL’s most dangerous young forwards and part of Nigeria’s WAFCON 2026 squad
- Nouhaila Benzina, Morocco, AS FAR, the first player to wear a hijab at a Women’s World Cup
- Rofiat Imuran, Nigeria, London City Lionesses, one of the most promising young defenders in the WSL
- Halimatu Ayinde, Nigeria, BK Häcken, Sweden, important midfield presence for the Super Falcons
- Jermaine Seoposenwe, South Africa, a key forward for Banyana Banyana in South Africa’s golden era
