The 100 Best Female Footballers in the World

The 100 Best Female Footballers in the World is an annual global ranking of the best female footballers. The list was started by The Offside Rule podcast in 2016. Since 2018 it has also been published in association with the British newspaper The Guardian who have published the male equivalent since its inception in 2012.

The list is voted for by a panel of experts ranging from players and coaches to journalists and broadcasters from around the world. Judges are sent a longlist of 450 footballers and asked to rank their top 40 who are given a corresponding points value. The total across all judges determines the finish position. In 2019, the panel consisted of 93 judges from 44 countries across five continents including newly-appointed USWNT and reigning NWSL champion head coach Vlatko Andonovski, and FIFA Female Player of the Century and legendary China international Sun Wen.[1]

Winners

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Number of wins in brackets.

Year Player Club(s)
2016[2]   Ada Hegerberg   Lyon
2017[3]   Lieke Martens   Rosengård /   Barcelona
2018[4]   Pernille Harder   Wolfsburg
2019[5]   Sam Kerr   Perth Glory /   Chicago Red Stars
2020[6]   Pernille Harder (2)   Wolfsburg /   Chelsea
2021[7]   Alexia Putellas   Barcelona
2022[8]   Alexia Putellas (2)   Barcelona
2023[9]   Aitana Bonmatí   Barcelona

Top 10

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As of 2023, 36 individual players have been included in the "top 10" of the Top 100 list.

Rank Player Years Peak Club(s) Apps
1   Sam Kerr 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 1 Perth Glory, Sky Blue FC, Chicago Red Stars, Chelsea 7
2   Lucy Bronze 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022 2 Manchester City, Lyon, Barcelona 6
3   Pernille Harder 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 1 Wolfsburg, Chelsea 5
  Vivianne Miedema 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 2 Arsenal
  Wendie Renard 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 4 Lyon
6   Caroline Graham Hansen 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 4 Barcelona 4
  Ada Hegerberg 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 1 Lyon
8   Aitana Bonmatí 2021, 2022, 2023 1 Barcelona 3
  Amandine Henry 2018, 2019, 2020 5 Lyon
  Dzsenifer Marozsán 2016, 2017, 2020 5 Frankfurt, Lyon
  Lieke Martens 2017, 2018, 2021 1 Rosengård, Barcelona
12   Eugénie Le Sommer 2018, 2019 5 Lyon 2
  Marta 2016, 2017 2 Rosengård, Orlando Pride
  Alex Morgan 2017, 2018 7 Lyon, Orlando Pride
  Alexandra Popp 2022, 2023 6 Wolfsburg
  Alexia Putellas 2021, 2022 1 Barcelona
  Megan Rapinoe 2018, 2019 3 Seattle Reign
  Keira Walsh 2022, 2023 4 Manchester City, Barcelona
19   Melanie Behringer 2016 3 Bayern Munich 1
  Delphine Cascarino 2020 10 Lyon
  Mary Earps 2023 9 Manchester United
  Julie Ertz 2020 9 Chicago Red Stars
  Tobin Heath 2016 9 Portland Thorns
  Jennifer Hermoso 2021 6 Barcelona
  Lauren James 2023 10 Chelsea
  Fran Kirby 2021 7 Chelsea
  Rose Lavelle 2019 7 Washington Spirit
  Mapi León 2023 8 Barcelona
  Kim Little 2016 4 Arsenal
  Carli Lloyd 2016 7 Houston Dash
  Beth Mead 2022 2 Arsenal
  Lena Oberdorf 2022 5 Wolfsburg
  Salma Paralluelo 2023 3 Barcelona
  Irene Paredes 2021 8 PSG, Barcelona
  Fridolina Rolfö 2023 5 Barcelona
  Christine Sinclair 2016 6 Portland Thorns

Overall

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By nationality

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As of the 2023 edition, players from 38 nations have made up the Top 100. The United States has been the most represented nation in total (111) with a record 19 individuals in 2019. In 2020, Germany became the first nation other than the United States to be the most represented. Spain became the third nation to have the most selections with 15 in 2023. South Africa is the most recent nation to debut following the inclusion of Thembi Kgatlana in 2023.

Nationality is defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Rank Nation 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 Total
1   United States 16 18 16 19 9 15 11 7 111
2   England 14 11 11 10 10 10 13 12 91
3   Germany 10 7 11 7 13 10 14 5 77
4   France 12 6 9 10 10 12 10 6 75
5   Spain 3 4 4 7 8 10 10 15 61
6   Sweden 8 2 5 9 8 9 4 6 51
7   Netherlands 4 9 6 6 8 4 5 8 50
8   Australia 6 8 5 2 3 2 3 8 37
9   Brazil 3 5 4 5 4 2 4 3 30
10   Canada 3 4 2 2 3 6 5 3 28
11   Norway 3 4 4 5 4 1 3 3 27
  Japan 4 3 4 4 2 2 3 5
13   Scotland 3 0 1 2 3 2 3 2 16
14   Denmark 2 4 3 1 2 1 1 1 15
15   Switzerland 1 2 3 0 1 1 1 1 10
16   Nigeria 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 8
17   South Korea 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 7
  Italy 0 0 0 1 2 2 1 1
  Poland 0 0 1 1 1 2 1 1
20   Chile 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 6
  Iceland 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1
  Malawi 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1
23   Austria 0 3 0 0 0 1 1 0 5
  Wales 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 0
  Jamaica 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1
26   Portugal 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 4
  Venezuela 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0
  Ireland 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1
29   Belgium 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3
  Colombia 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2
31   China 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2
  Costa Rica 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Haiti 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
  New Zealand 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
  Serbia 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
  Zambia 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
37   Finland 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
  South Africa 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

Nationalities by continent

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The European confederation has had the most players selected every year.

Continent refers to the corresponding continental confederation of the player's nationality.

Rank Confederation 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 Total
1 Europe 64 56 62 62 74 67 68 64 517
2 North America 19 24 18 22 13 22 18 12 148
3 Asia 12 12 11 7 6 5 7 13 73
4 South America 4 6 6 6 5 4 6 6 43
5 Africa 1 2 2 2 2 2 1 5 17
6 Oceania 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2

By club

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As of the 2023 edition, players playing for 89 clubs have been selected. French club Lyon has had the most players in the Top 100 with 103 selections. In 2022, Barcelona became the first club other than Lyon to have the most players selected in a single year and retained the top spot the following year. Clubs are counted when a player in the Top 100 played for that team in the same calendar year they were selected. Players may have played for multiple clubs per year.

Rank Club 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 Total
1   Lyon 15 12 14 12 12 15 13 10 103
2   Barcelona 3 5 4 8 10 14 14 15 73
3   Chelsea 7 7 5 8 11 9 10 10 67
4   Wolfsburg 8 7 11 11 10 4 10 5 66
5   Paris Saint-Germain 7 7 5 7 9 12 7 7 61
6   Arsenal 5 5 5 6 9 11 8 11 60
7   Manchester City 8 7 5 4 7 8 8 8 55
8   Bayern Munich 6 4 4 4 6 8 8 8 48
9   Portland Thorns 5 7 4 4 2 4 4 1 31
10   North Carolina Courage 0 4 8 8 5 2 2 1 30
11   Seattle Reign 4 4 5 1 0 5 4 0 23
12   Chicago Red Stars 2 2 4 5 2 2 1 0 18
  Orlando Pride 4 6 4 2 0 1 0 1
  Real Madrid 0 0 0 2 2 3 4 7
15   Rosengård 4 2 3 1 3 2 0 0 15
16   Houston Dash 5 2 1 1 3 1 1 0 14
17   Manchester United 0 0 0 1 1 1 4 5 12
  Montpellier 3 3 2 3 1 0 0 0
  Washington Spirit 2 1 1 3 1 2 1 1
20   Eintracht Frankfurt 4 3 1 1 1 0 1 0 11
  Melbourne City 4 1 4 1 1 0 0 0
22   Linköpings 3 2 1 3 1 0 0 0 10
22   Atlético Madrid 0 1 1 3 2 2 0 0 9
  Juventus 0 0 0 1 2 3 2 1
27   NJ/NY Gotham FC 0 3 0 1 0 2 0 2 8
  Turbine Potsdam 3 3 2 0 0 0 0 0
29   San Diego Wave 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 6
  Utah Royals 0 0 2 4 0 0 0 0
29   Bordeaux 0 0 0 1 2 2 0 0 5
  LSK Kvinner 2 0 1 2 0 0 0 0
31   Aston Villa 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 4
  Canberra United 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 0
  Essen 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 0
  FC Twente 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 1
  Freiburg 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0
  Sydney FC 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0
  Vålerenga 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0
38   BK Häcken 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 3
  Brisbane Roar 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
  Dalian 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
  FSU Seminoles 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
  Hoffenheim 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0
  INAC Kobe 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1
  Jiangsu Suning 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0
  Levante 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2
  Perth Glory 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
  UCLA Bruins 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
  Vegalta Sendai 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1
  West Ham United 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1
  Western New York Flash 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Western Sydney Wanderers 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0
52   AC Milan 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2
  Angel City FC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
  Birmingham City 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
  Changchun Zhuoyue 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
  FC Kansas City 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Hammarby 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
  Kvarnsvedens 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Madrid CFF 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
  Pachuca 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
  Paris FC 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
  PSV Eindhoven 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
  Roma 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
  SC Sand 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Stade de Reims 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
  Wuhan 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
67   AC Nagano 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
  Achilles '29 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Boston Breakers 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Brighton & Hove Albion 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
  Brøndby 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Deportivo Cali 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
  Everton 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
  Inter Milan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
  JEF United 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Kansas City Current 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
  Liverpool 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Newcastle Jets 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
  Okayama Yunogo Belle 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Örebro 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Racing Louisville 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
  Reading 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
  Santos 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
  São Paulo 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
  Shanghai Shengli 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
  Suwon FC 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
  Tigres UANL 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
  Urawa Red Diamonds 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
  West Virginia Mountaineers 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Clubs by nation

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For the first four years, the United States league system had the most players selected. Since 2020, England has been the most represented and set a new record of 37 players in 2023.

Rank Nation 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 Total
1   England 20 20 16 20 31 31 32 37 207
2   France 26 22 21 23 24 29 21 19 185
3   United States 30 32 30 30 13 19 16 13 183
4   Germany 21 21 21 18 19 13 20 13 146
5   Spain 3 6 5 13 14 20 19 25 105
6   Sweden 9 5 5 4 6 3 0 1 33
7   Australia 6 6 8 7 2 0 0 0 29
8   Italy 0 0 0 1 2 3 3 5 14
9   China 1 2 4 1 1 1 0 1 11
10   Japan 2 3 1 2 0 0 0 2 10
11   Norway 2 1 2 3 1 0 0 0 9
12   Netherlands 0 3 0 0 1 0 1 2 7
13   Mexico 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 3
14   Brazil 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2
15   Colombia 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
  Denmark 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
  South Korea 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Laverty, Rich (2 December 2019). "How the Guardian ranked the 100 best female footballers in the world 2019". The Guardian.
  2. ^ "Top 100 Women's Footballers of 2016: 30-21". The Offside Rule. 21 December 2016.
  3. ^ "The Top 100 Women's Footballers of 2017 – Results". The Offside Rule. 11 December 2017.
  4. ^ Laverty, Rich. "The 100 best female footballers in the world 2018". The Guardian.
  5. ^ Laverty, Rich; Laverty, Rich. "The 100 best female footballers in the world 2019". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  6. ^ Laverty, Rich. "The 100 best female footballers in the world 2020". The Guardian.
  7. ^ Laverty, Rich. "The 100 best female footballers in the world 2021". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  8. ^ Laverty, Rich. "The 100 best female footballers in the world 2022". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  9. ^ Laverty, Rich (12 January 2024). "The 100 best female footballers in the world 2023". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 January 2024.