Meet Nigeria’s Umejiaku, FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup best player

Oluebube Umejiaku. CREDIT: FIFA

Nigeria’s Oluebube Umejiaku has emerged as the standout player of the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco after winning the tournament’s Golden Ball award.

The 16-year-old striker received the award on Saturday after helping the Flamingos win their first-ever title with a 2-1 victory over Japan in the final.

Umejiaku scored four goals during Nigeria’s campaign, including the decisive goal in the final, to finish ahead of Yu Jong-hyang of North Korea, who won the Silver Ball, and Japan’s Fuki Ito, who received the Bronze Ball.

FIFA, in a post on its website on Saturday, said the Nigerian forward was instrumental in her country’s historic triumph, describing her as an “electric forward” and the “star of the show” in the final.

Her journey to becoming the tournament’s best player was particularly remarkable, having started Nigeria’s campaign on the bench.

Umejiaku came on as a substitute and scored in the Flamingos’ opening match against Poland, although Nigeria lost 2-1.

She subsequently established herself as an important member of the team, scoring against North Korea, Mexico and Japan as Nigeria recovered from their opening defeat to win the competition.

Her goal against Japan in the final proved decisive, securing Nigeria’s place in the history books as the first African country to win the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.

Speaking after the final, Umejiaku said she had prayed for her opportunity to shine at the tournament.

“Every time I went to training and every time I slept, I told God that I’m praying for all the people that are starting. But when I wanted to start, I just told God that it is my time,” she told FIFA.

Reflecting on Nigeria’s opening defeat to Poland, she said the players were determined to improve their performances and approach every subsequent match with seriousness.

“When we lost the first game against Poland, everybody said we needed to wake up because we didn’t come here to look at anybody’s face and we have to take every game as a final. We don’t downgrade anything; we play and we put all our best into every game,” she added.

Umejiaku, who plays for Heartland Queens FC, also won multiple Player of the Match awards during the competition, including in the final.

Her Golden Ball recognition was among several individual honours presented at the tournament’s closing ceremony in Rabat on Saturday.

The United States’ Maddie DiMaria won the Golden Boot after scoring a record 12 goals, while North Korea’s Kim Son-gyong received the Golden Glove for her outstanding goalkeeping performances.

North Korea’s Yu Jong-hyang also won the Silver Ball, while Japan’s Fuki Ito took the Bronze Ball. Japan received the FIFA Fair Play Trophy.

Umejiaku was also part of the Flamingos squad that won the WAFU-B U-17 Girls Cup in September.

Nigeria’s triumph in Morocco was historic, as the country became the first African nation to win the U-17 Women’s World Cup and the first African country to claim a FIFA women’s tournament title.

The victory also extended Nigeria’s record of winning at least one FIFA U-17 World Cup title across five consecutive decades, with the country’s male and female teams contributing to the achievement.