Nigeria’s prodigy Blessing Owolabi closed the 2025 season of the Kazakhstan Women’s Football League with a sensational 30 goals, establishing a new scoring benchmark for foreign players in the competition.

Her goal‑rush did more than just top the charts it confirmed her as one of the deadliest forwards in the league and sparked talk of her earning a Super Falcons call-up.

Owolabi, who plays for BIIK‑Kazygurt, achieved the feat while on loan at Tumiris Turan, where she made a marked impact. According to reports, she had scored 22 goals in just 12 matches for her parent club before the switch.

In one of her standout performances, she struck twice during a 4–0 victory over Zhenis Astana WFC, opening the scoring in the 16th minute and doubling the lead by the 34th.

Before the loan move, her tally at BIIK‑Kazygurt stood impressively high, underlining her consistency and lethal finishing touch. Football insiders are already speculating that Owolabi’s exploits are impossible to ignore by those who select Nigeria’s women’s national team.

Though still just 19 years old, she has shown remarkable composure and precision in front of goal credentials that might well propel her into bigger leagues and the national squad in the near future.

Editorial

We witness in Blessing Owolabi a compelling story of ambition, talent and sheer goal‑scoring audacity. At 19, she has taken a foreign league by storm, redefining expectations of what a young Nigerian forward can achieve abroad.

It is tempting to view Owolabi’s 30‑goal record as mere numbers. But for us, those numbers tell a deeper tale: one of persistence, confidence, and the audacity to dream beyond one’s immediate surroundings. She moved on loan, adapted to a new environment, and still delivered time after time.

We believe that Nigerian women’s football must capitalise on narratives like hers. It’s not enough to applaud talent we must build systems that nurture, expose and sustain it. Many promising players falter when they meet foreign leagues, either through lack of support, cultural challenges or inadequate preparation. Owolabi’s success offers a blueprint: with structure, mentorship, and belief, a young talent can flourish even far from home.

It is also our conviction that this achievement should be a clarion call to those who manage the game domestically. The Nigerian football authorities must pay heed. There should be a pathway for players like Owolabi to graduate into top European leagues or to the Super Falcons without administrative or developmental bottlenecks chasing them back to Nigeria prematurely.

We don’t doubt that this feat will spark interest in her, possibly from clubs in stronger competitions. But we also expect that Nigeria’s coaches and selectors will take her seriously not merely as a news headline, but as someone who can contribute meaningfully on the international stage.

We stand behind the notion that Owolabi’s 30 goals should mark not just her personal rise, but the next leap for women’s football in Nigeria. If we carry forward that belief, we empower others to follow in her footsteps.

Did You Know?

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2. The Kazakhstan Women’s Football Championship has seen extraordinary goal tallies: in 2025, Alina Litvinenko scored 72 goals in a single season arguably one of the highest ever in women’s domestic football.
   
   
3. BIIK‑Kazygurt, Owolabi’s parent club, has been a dominant force in Kazakhstan’s women’s football, frequently competing in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
   
   
4. Tumiris Turan, where Owolabi was on loan, have a history of recruiting foreign forwards to bolster their attacking strength in pivotal seasons.
   
   
5. Before her exploits abroad, Owolabi was nurtured in the Nakamura Football Academy in Nigeria a club known for developing disciplined young players.
   
   
6. The record for most goals by a foreign player in the Kazakhstan Women’s League had long been held by players from Eastern Europe, making Owolabi’s 30‑goal achievement especially remarkable.