False! Asisat Oshoala did not announce her retirement from Super Falcons

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson

(Asisat Oshoala. Photo Credit: NFF Media)

Claim:

An X user, @iNaijaNow, has circulated a claim on X that “Asisat Oshoala has announced her retirement from Super Falcons.”

Verdict:

False! The Director of Media and Communications at Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), Ademola Olajire (PhD), told Alusine Rehme Wilson that news about Asisat Oshoala’s retirement is not true.

Full Text

News that the gifted Nigerian international footballer, Asisat Oshoala, a six-time winner of the CAF Women Player of Year Award who plays for Bay Football Club in the United States is retiring from the Super Falcons have circulated online.

Related reports alleging she’s retiring from international football have since July 21, 2025 gone viral on the internet particularly on news blogs owned and managed by Nigerians as well as on social media platforms including Instagram, YouTube and Facebook, as seen here, here and here.

(Screenshot of related claim by AY Sports Updates falsely quoting Asisat Oshoala)

Oshoala is being quoted to have allegedly announced her retirement from the Super Falcons marking an end to her illustrious international football career with her country’s senior women’s national team.

(Screenshot of the claim by iNiajaNow falsely quoting Asisat Oshoala)

The claim comes at a time when Asisat Oshoala was in Morocco with the Nigerian senior women’s football team (Super Falcons) for the CAF 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON).

(Super Falcons 2024 WAFCON squad list and designated player number, Oshoala given the No. 8 jersey )

Although, the all-time Super Falcons female striker, had only started once, been substituted twice and remained a substitute in Nigeria's last five matches in the just-concluded 2024 WAFCON, she has enjoyed 110 minutes which critics deem as less playing time than many anticipated.

When the news about her alleged retirement broke out, Oshoala plus her team officials including members of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) were all tight-lipped. No statement was made to debunk or confirm the news, sparking further doubts about whether the Bay FC player had indeed announced her retirement from international football.

Verification:

The silence further fueled the widespread alleged retirement news about the 30-year-old Nigerian woman-footballer sensation, sparking controversies online over its accuracy. As a result, AWE-Media SL resolved to fact-check the claim as part of its effort to combat the spread of false news and promote accuracy in the information space.

(Screenshot of some comments on the same claim shared on YouTube by Atlantic Television Network falsely quoting Asisat Oshoala)

The DUBAWA Kwame KariKari Fact Checking OSINT Fellowship Fellow researcher checked Asisat Oshoala’s official Facebook, Instagram and X handles to confirm whether she had indeed announced her retirement from international football but found no official announcement on any of them.

Similarly, the researcher also checked the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) official website as well as its X and Instagram handles but found no official statement debunking the claim.

Also, the researcher reached out to Ademola Olajire (PhD), the Director of Media and Communications at the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) to confirm or debunk the claim. Mr. Olajire told Alusine Rehme Wilson that the player “never did.”

“I am not in Morocco, so I cannot arrange an interview on this, moreover as it is not true. The player has confirmed that she never made the statement. Asisat Oshoala will continue as an international player for Nigeria,” Olajire further told DUBAWA via WhatsApp on Friday, July 25, 2025.

Additionally, some keywords search conducted on Google search engine by this researcher revealed that there was no credible report about Oshoala's retirement on trusted media outlets such as the BBC, Reuters and CNN and local outlets.

Also, Oshoala’s retirement was debunked in a report by a Nigerian media outlet, African Independent Television (AIT) as seen here. An X user also debunked it here.

Conclusion:

The viral news that Asisat Oshoala has retired from international football is FALSE, as the NFF and media reports debunked the claim.

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