On this day· August 24, 2014
Asisat Oshoala
Asisat Oshoala grew up in Lagos in a family that opposed her playing football — a "boys' game" for a girl who was meant to focus on school. Punished for playing, she sometimes slept at her grandmother's, the one person who believed in her. At the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Canada, she was the tournament's outstanding player: seven goals, the Golden Boot, and the Golden Ball as best player, even as Nigeria lost the final 1-0 to Germany on 24 August 2014. She went on to become African Women's Footballer of the Year and a Champions League winner — and to change her family's mind.