Women’s soccer has come a long way. Starting from when you could hardly get information about games and players to now when they have become some of the most celebrated athletes in the world.
That said, there have been whispers about the low numbers of black female soccer players. And how that affects the participation of young black girls and those of colour. Even so, female black soccer players are some of the best in the game.
Our list includes the following:
- Asisat Oshoala
- Crystal Soubrier Dunn
- Lauren James
- Wendie Renard
- Barbara Banda
- Kadeisha Buchanan
- Margaret Purce
- Ashley Lawrence
- Thembi Kgatlana
- Jessica McDonald
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1. Asisat Oshoala
The Nigerian international is one of the world’s best female black soccer players. She plays in the Spanish League for Barcelona Femeni.
Before she moved to Spain, Oshoala played for Dalian Quanjian in China, Arsenal, and Liverpool in England, as well as River Angels and Robo in Nigeria.
Oshoala has won a lot of teams and individual trophies. At the end of the 2023 season, she lifted the UEFA Women’s Champions League for a second time with Barcelona.
She’s also won the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations multiple times with Nigeria. The legend has also been voted Africa Women’s Footballer of the Year a record 5 times and was the BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year.
2. Crystal Soubrier Dunn
We respect her decision to take up her hubby’s second name but we are used to Dunn in the footballing world. She’s one of the best female black soccer players you’ll watch. Playing in the winger back position, she’s demonstrated her ability to play in defensive and offensive positions.
She currently plays in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) for Portland Thorns. Crystal has previously played for the North Carolina Courage, Chelsea, and the Washington Spirit.
Internationally, Dunn has played for the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) 131 times. She was part of the World Cup-winning teams of 2015 and 2019.
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3. Lauren James
Lauren James is one of the best young female black soccer players right now. At just 21 years old, she established herself in Chelsea and England’s lineup. As a forward player, James has tenacity, maturity, and technique to get things going for her side.
She came up through the ranks at Chelsea, where her brother Reece James also plays for the men’s senior side. Internationally, James has 10 caps for the Lionesses. And he can increase that during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia & New Zealand.
4. Wendie Renard
French captain Wendy Renard is one of the best female black soccer players. She’s a centre-back and plays for the best club in the world Olympique Lyon. This is a club she joined when she was 16 years old. Renard has made 284 appearances and scored 92 goals.
Internationally, she has been part of the senior team since 2011. She’s played in two Olympics, World Cups, and European Championships. This year’s tournament in Australia & New Zealand will be her third. She has 142 caps for her country.
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5. Barbara Banda
The Zambian international hit the headlines last year. And this is after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) barred her from participating in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations after she “failed to meet the eligibility criteria to prove her gender.”
Banda is the captain of the team and is the central figure in the team. She’ll lead them in their first-ever FIFA Women’s World Cup tournament in Australia & New Zealand. She has at least 30 caps for Zambia.
At the club level, Banda plays for Shanghai Shengli, whom she joined from the Spanish side Logrono.
6. Kadeisha Buchanan
Kadeisha’s parents are Jamaican but she was born and raised in Ontario, Canada. She started her senior career in Canada, playing for a few teams there before she joined the French side Lyon where the rest of the world noticed her.
She spent five years at Lyon and won everything with the club. In 2022, she joined English side Chelsea Women and signed a five-year contract at the club. Internationally, Buchanan has 131 caps for the Canadian national team.
7. Margaret Purce
Nicknamed Midge, she plays as a forward for Gotham FC in the NWSL. She made her debut in the league in 2017 in a Boston Breakers shirt. She only played for the team for a year before she moved to Portland Thorns until 2019 and later to her current club.
Internationally, Purce played her first senior game with the USWNT in 2017. So far, she has amassed over 23 caps. Currently, she isn’t part of the team roster, at least going by what is on the USWNT website.
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8. Ashley Lawrence
Ashley Lawrence is one of the best fullbacks cum midfielders and female black soccer players. She recently left Paris Saint Germain (PSG) after six years. She’s yet to find a club but reports indicate that Chelsea, Bayern Munich, and Barcelona are after her signature.
At PSG, she played 110 games. Before that, she played for clubs in Canada. Internationally, Ashley Lawrence is a major part of the national team, having accumulated 131 caps since 2013.
9. Thembi Kgatlana
The South African international burst onto the scene after an impressive year in 2018 when she lit up the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON). She won the Africa Women’s Footballer of the Year Award and later got a high-profile move to Spanish side Eibar and later Atletico Madrid. She scored South Africa’s first-ever goal in a FIFA Women’s World Cup against Spain, although they eventually lost the game.
10. Jessica McDonald
Her name might not be the first that comes to mind when you hear about the United States Women’s National Team USWNT but Jessica McDonald has been around for longer than you think. Her first club in the NWSL was Chicago Red Star in 2010, and has gone on and played for several others, namely:
- Melbourne Victory
- Seattle Reign
- Portland Thorns FC
- Houston Dash
- Western New York Flash FC
- North Carolina Courage
- Racing Louisville
Internationally, Jessica McDonald has played for the US 19 times, with her first cap coming in 2016. She was part of the World Cup-winning squad in 2019.
These are the best female black soccer players in the game at the moment. We know this list can change depending on your favorite but we can agree that we’ve selected strong contenders.
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