Ayisat Yusuf

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Ayisat Yusuf
Personal information
Full name Ayisat Yusuf-Aromire
Date of birth (1985-03-06) 6 March 1985 (age 40)
Place of birth Nigeria
Height 1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Defence
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
–2007 Nasarawa Amazons
2007 NiceFutis (1)
2007–2010 Delta Queens FC
2008 KMF - (0)
2010–2011 Rivers Angels SC
International career
2002 Nigeria U-19
2002–2009 Nigeria
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ayisat Yusuf-Aromire (born 6 March 1985) is a retired Nigerian female football player, who now lives in Finland. [1] [2]

Contents

Yusuf played for several clubs in Nigeria and Finland. She was a member of the Nigerian squad at the 2004 African Women's Championship, 2007 Women's World Cup and the 2008 Summer Olympics. [2] After her retirement from active football, she moved to finland where she works as a football coach and social advocate for immigrant women and girls through sports. [3]

Yusuf lives in Kannelmäki, Helsinki. She married a Nigerian man. Both their children were born in Finland. [2]

Early life and career

Yusuf-Aromire was born in Lagos, Nigeria and began playing football at a young age. She earned her spot on the Nigeria U-19 national team that competed in the 2002 FIFA U-19 Women's World Cup in Canada. She later advanced to the senior team, representing Nigeria at the 2004 African Women’s Championship, the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup in China, and the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Club career

In Nigeria, Yusuf-Aromire played for women's football clubs, including Nasarawa Amazons, Delta Queens, and Rivers Angels. Her performances earned her a place in Europe, where she played in Finland for clubs such as FC Oulu, NiceFutis, KMF Kuopio, and MimmiFutis. She also had a stint in Sweden before retiring from professional football in 2009 [4] .

Post-playing career

After retiring, Yusuf-Aromire settled in Helsinki, Finland, where she became involved in sports coaching and community work. She holds a UEFA B coaching license and has coached youth teams including FC Pohu’s boys’ teams and GPS United’s girls’ teams. She also serves as a sports instructor for Monaliiku an NGO that promotes physical activity, integration, and empowerment among immigrant women [5] .

In 2018, she founded the SheFootball Initiative, a non-profit organization in Nigeria that aims to empower girls through football, mentorship, education, and life skills. The initiative hosts annual conferences and tournaments that reach girls across Nigeria, promoting gender equality and personal development through sport. [6]

She was named head coach of GirlPower United Afghans. The team would be competing in a 4-nation summer camp tournament at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. [7]

Awards and Recorgnitions

In 2022, Yusuf-Aromire was awarded the FIFPRO Merit Award for her work in empowering women and girls through sport. She became the first African woman to receive the award [8] . In 2025, she was selected to participate as a coach at a prestigious FIFA Summer Camp tournament in Zurich, representing GirlPower Afghans United among a cohort of international youth teams [9] . Ayisat is a board member with Network FARE with UEFA [4] .

Participate in

2004 African Women's Championship

Group B

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria 321092+77Advance to knockout stage
2Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon 312075+25
3Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria 31024733
4Flag of Mali.svg  Mali 30122861
Source: [ citation needed ]
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Nigeria  Flag of Nigeria.svg40Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria
Report
Cameroon  Flag of Cameroon.svg22Flag of Mali.svg  Mali
  • Mete Soccerball shade.svg18'
  • Mbida Soccerball shade.svg60'
Report
  • Diarra Soccerball shade.svg29'
  • Keita Soccerball shade.svg34'

Algeria  Flag of Algeria.svg30Flag of Mali.svg  Mali
Report
Nigeria  Flag of Nigeria.svg22Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon
Report

Algeria  Flag of Algeria.svg13Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon
Imloul Soccerball shade.svg11' Report
  • Mbida Soccerball shade.svg57', 70'
  • Mekongo Soccerball shade.svg78'
Nigeria  Flag of Nigeria.svg30Flag of Mali.svg  Mali
Report

Knockout stage

At this stage, if a match is level at the end of 90 minutes and additional playing time, extra time, except for the third place match, is played and followed by a penalty shoot-out if necessary.

Bracket

 
Semi-finals Final
 
      
 
28 September - Johannesburg
 
 
Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana 0
 
3 October - Johannesburg
 
Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon (a.e.t.)1
 
Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon 0
 
28 September - Johannesburg
 
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria 5
 
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria 4
 
 
Flag of Ethiopia (1996-2009).svg  Ethiopia 0
 
Third place play-off
 
 
1 October - Johannesburg
 
 
Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana (p)0 (6)
 
 
Flag of Ethiopia (1996-2009).svg  Ethiopia 0 (5)

Semi-finals

Ghana  Flag of Ghana.svg01 (a.e.t./s.g.)Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon
Report Bella Soccerball shade silver.svg96'

Nigeria  Flag of Nigeria.svg40Flag of Ethiopia (1996-2009).svg  Ethiopia
Report

Third place play-off

Ghana  Flag of Ghana.svg00 (a.e.t.)Flag of Ethiopia (1996-2009).svg  Ethiopia
Report
Penalties
6–5
  • Soccerball shad check.svg Gebrekirstos
  • Soccerball shad check.svg Yasine
  • Soccerball shade cross.svg Ali
  • Soccerball shad check.svg Addis
  • Soccerball shad check.svg Tutu
  • Soccerball shad check.svg Kemal
  • Soccerball shade cross.svg Seifu
  • Soccerball shade cross.svg Bezuhan

Final

Nigeria  Flag of Nigeria.svg50Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon
Report


Sources

References

  1. "Falcons Good For AWC Trophy-Ayisat". SportsDay Online. Retrieved 10 April 2013.[ permanent dead link ]
  2. 1 2 3 Särkkä, Heidi (1 November 2022). "Tytär, joka ei totellut käskyjä" [The daughter who disobeyed orders]. Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  3. "Ayisat Yusuf-Aromire: "Football has no gender" - FIFPRO World Players' Union". FIFPRO. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  4. 1 2 "Instructors - Fit4Life". www.fit4life.fi. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  5. "Finnish-Nigerian Ayisat Yusuf-Aromire to attend FURD Female Football". Monikansallisten naisten hyvinvointi ja liikunta ry (in Finnish). Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  6. "Star of the Olympics and African champion – JHL's new member Ayisat Yusuf-Aromire rose to the top of football, although she wasn't allowed to play the sport". Trade Union JHL. 13 May 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  7. Obah, Amara (13 June 2025). "Ex-Super Falcon Ayisat Yusuf-Aromire to coach GirlPower United". ACLSports. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  8. "Ayisat Yusuf-Aromire: "Football has no gender" - FIFPRO World Players' Union". FIFPRO. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  9. Obah, Amara (13 June 2025). "Ex-Super Falcon Ayisat Yusuf-Aromire to coach GirlPower United". ACLSports. Retrieved 20 July 2025.