The Super Falcons captain joins a 13-player global group using football to drive social change, with her own health education project at the centre of her selection.
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Super Falcons captain Rasheedat Ajibade has been selected for the second cohort of FIFA’s Player Impact Programme, as FootballInNigeria.com.ng reports. She is one of 13 footballers from 13 countries chosen for the nine-month initiative.
FIFA launched the programme to help players use their voice, platform and resources to drive positive social change. Participants receive tailored guidance, expert support and access to resources through FIFA and an external specialist in sport for social impact.
Ajibade already leads a project of her own, the Rash Hygiene Hub, run through the Rasheedat Ajibade Foundation. It promotes hygiene, mental health and personal health education among grassroots female footballers in Nigeria. Readers following Nigerian women’s football can also check the Bet9ja bonus offer.
The cohort has already held its first three day Impact Accelerator Workshop. Reports say the players will present their projects in London in December.
Former India captain Sunil Chhetri was the only man at the workshop, which brought together 11 of the 13 participants. His presence shows the programme is open to players across the men’s and women’s games.
The programme began as a pilot in Paris in August 2025 with 14 women footballers, including Kadeisha Buchanan, Alessia Russo and Tierna Davidson. Malawi’s Tabitha Chawinga and Cameroon’s Gaëlle Enganamouit represented Africa. New Bet9ja users can also look up the YOHAIG code for new users.
Ajibade was named Player of the Tournament at the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, which Nigeria won. She remains one of the most recognisable faces of the Super Falcons.
Recognition away from the pitch matters for women’s football in Nigeria. Will other Super Falcons follow Ajibade’s lead with projects of their own?
On the pitch, Nigeria’s women are expected to play Algeria in a friendly during the November window. A two legged Olympic qualifier against Morocco follows in February and March 2027. Anyone curious about rewards for friends can read this Bet9ja referral code guide.
📌 Did You Know?
- Ajibade launched the annual #StandOutWithRASH campaign in 2020.
- She was voted player of the season in 2017 after scoring eight goals to help Robo Queens avoid relegation.
- The Rasheedat Ajibade Foundation has also run a medical outreach that teaches footballers life-saving techniques.
- Ajibade extended her contract at Atlético Madrid in January 2022, tying her to the Spanish club until 2025.
- She was named man of the match in a group game against Canada at the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
- The first cohort presented their projects in London in November 2025, at the end of a three-month cycle.
