Though voting has now officially closed, let me bring you a quick but in depth profile of all 5 contenders for the title, first because I have a fellow country woman amongst them, and because a lot of us, like yours truly, did not know a great deal about these players before now.

Right, straight to it.

1. ASISAT OSHOALA





Asisat Oshoala
Personal information
Full name Asisat Lamina Oshoala[1]
Date of birth (1994-10-09) 9 October 1994 (age 20)
Place of birth Ikorodu, Nigeria
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position Forward
Club information
Current team
Liverpool Ladies
Youth career
FC Robo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2009–2013 FC Robo
2013–2015 Rivers Angels
2015– Liverpool Ladies 0 (0)
National team‡
2011– Nigeria
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:32, 15 November 2014 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15:32, 15 November 2014 (UTC)
Asisat Lamina Oshoala is a Nigerian Footballer and plies her trade in England with Liverpool Ladies. She won the FIFA golden ball and golden shoe at the 2014 FIFA Women's world cup. She was also best player and second top goalscorer at the 2014 African Women's championship.

Oshoala found success as a striker for Nigeria's youth teams but made most of her early appearances for the senior national team as an attacking midfielder. She was nicknamed "Seedorf" after male footballer for her similarity in play to Clarence Seedorf. In September 2014 Oshoala was made a Member Of the Order of the Niger by President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria

On 23 January 2015, Oshoala joined Liverpool Ladies



2. VERONICA BOQUETE



Verónica Boquete
Personal information
Full name Verónica Boquete Giadans
Date of birth (1987-04-09) 9 April 1987 (age 28)
Place of birth Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain
Height 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)
Playing position Attacking Midfielder
Second striker, False 9
Club information
Current team
FFC Frankfurt
Youth career
2004–2005 SD Xuventú Aguiño
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2005–2008 Prainsa Zaragoza 83 (40)
2008–2010 Espanyol 68 (39)
2010 Buffalo Flash 9 (9)
2010 Chicago Red Stars 3 (1)
2010–2011 Espanyol 29 (41)
2011 Philadelphia Independence 13 (5)
2011 Energiya Voronezh 5 (1)
2012–2014 Tyresö 21 (7)
2014 Portland Thorns 15 (4)
2014– Frankfurt 21 (7)
National team
2004–2006 Spain U-19 23 (10)
2005– Spain 43 (29)
2007– Galicia 2 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 August 2014.
† Appearances (Goals).
Boquete became more famous after signing for the Philadelphia Independence of the American Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) in 2011. She was a key player in Philadelphia's 2011 season with four match-winning goals, and she was awarded the Player of the year award that year. In addition, she had been awarded the Player of the Week prize three times.
Boquete is a veteran of Spain's 2004 UEFA Women's under 19 world championship title win and their subsequent 2004 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship campaign.

Her senior Spain women's national football team debut came in February 2005, in a 0–0 friendly draw with the Netherlands.

In October 2012 Boquete scored the winning extra time goal in the 122nd minute of Spain's 3–2 win over Scotland in the second leg of the UEFA Women's Euro 2013 qualifying play-off. The Spanish looked to be heading out when Boquete had missed a penalty three minutes earlier.[13]

In June 2013, national team coach Ignacio Quereda confirmed Boquete as a member of his 23-player squad for the UEFA Women's Euro 2013 finals in Sweden.

Earlier in 2013 Boquete started a petition on Change.org, which called upon video game producer Electronic Arts to introduce female players in its FIFA series. The petition attracted 20,000 signatures in 24 hours.



3. NADINE KESSLER ⇐Editor's pick



Personal information
Full name Nadine Keßler
Date of birth (1988-04-04) 4 April 1988 (age 27)
Place of birth Landstuhl, West Germany
Height 1.69 m (5 ft 6 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
VfL Wolfsburg
Number 13
Youth career
SV Herschberg
SV Hermersberg
SC Weselberg
2004–2005 1. FC Saarbrücken
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2005–2009 1. FC Saarbrücken 52 (37)
2009–2011 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam 34 (19)
2011– VfL Wolfsburg 58 (31)
National team‡
2003 Germany U15 2 (1)
2003–2004 Germany U17 15 (3)
2004–2007 Germany U19 23 (10)
2008 Germany U20 10 (2)
2010– Germany 29 (10)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 25 May 2014.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18:03, 19 June 2014 (UTC)



Nadine Kessler (born 4 April 1988) is a German footballer. She currently plays for VfL Wolfsburg and the German national team. Kessler was the recipient of the FIFA World Player of the Year award at the 2014 FIFA Ballon d'Or.

In 2011, Kessler transferred to VfL Wolfsburg.The team finished second during the 2011-12 regular season with a 18–2–2 record. Kessler scored 11 goals tying for fourth in the league for most goals scored.

During the 2012-13 season, Kessler scored eight goals helping Wolfsburg finish first during the regular season with a 17–3–2 record. She captained the team to win the 2012-13 UEFA Champions League after defeating Olympique Lyonnais 1-0 in the final.

In 2014, Kessler led Wolfsburg to championships in the Frauen Bundesliga and UEFA Women's Champions League. Wolfsburg became the first German team in the history to win the treble of League, German Cup and Champions League. Kessler was awarded the UEFA Best Women's Player in Europe Award. She was awarded the FIFA Player of the Year award in January 2015 having received 17.52% of the vote over Marta (14.16%) and Abby Wambach (13.33%). Upon receiving the award, she said, "It's a reward for hard work, good performances and a good development track. I know it's a trophy for individuals, but I'd never have won it without my teammates."

She signed a new one-year contract on 12 May 2015.

4. KIM LITTLE



Kim Little
Personal information
Full name Kim Alison Little[1]
Date of birth (1990-06-29) 29 June 1990 (age 24)
Place of birth Aberdeen, Scotland
Height 1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
Playing position Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
Seattle Reign FC
Number 8
Youth career
2000-2004 Buchan Girls FC
2005-2006 Hibs Girls FC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2006–2008 Hibernian Ladies 48 (88)
2008–2013 Arsenal Ladies 93 (81)
2014– Seattle Reign FC 25 (16)
National team‡
2007– Scotland 108 (41)
2012– Great Britain 5 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 27 October 2014.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19:42, 11 March 2015 (UTC)

Kim Alison Little is a Scottish footballer who is a leading scorer on the Scotland women's national football team. She is currently signed to Seattle Reign FC in the National Women's Soccer League and previously played for FA WSL club Arsenal Ladies. During her time with Arsenal, the team won five league titles, two WSL Continental Cups, three FA Cups and one Premier League Cup. Prior to her six years with Arsenal, Little played for Hibernian L.F.C. in the Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL). During her 18 months with the club, they won the SWPL championship title, Scottish Cup, and the Premier League Cup.

Little has represented Scotland at the senior international level since age 16. She was one of two Scots selected for the Great Britain squad that reached the quarterfinals of the 2012 London Olympics. In 2010, she was named the FA's Women's Player of the Year. In 2013, she became the first recipient of the PFA Women's Players' Player of the Year award.

5. MARTA

marta

Marta
Personal information
Full name Marta Vieira da Silva
Date of birth (1986-02-19) 19 February 1986 (age 29)
Place of birth Dois Riachos, Alagoas, Brazil
Height 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
Playing position Forward
Youth career
1999 Centro Sportivo Alagoano
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2000–2002 Vasco da Gama 16 (4)
2002–2004 Santa Cruz 38 (16)
2004–2008 Umeå IK 103 (111)
2009 Los Angeles Sol 19 (10)
2009–2010 → Santos (loan) 14 (26)
2010 FC Gold Pride 24 (19)
2011 Santos 12 (13)
2011 Western New York Flash 14 (10)
2012–2014 Tyresö FF 35 (24)
2014– FC Rosengård 7 (4)
National team‡
2002– Brazil 91 (79)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 9 May 2013.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22 April 2015

Marta Vieira da Silva (born 19 February 1986 in Dois Riachos, Alagoas), commonly known as Marta, is a Brazilianfootballforward who plays for FC Rosengård of the Swedish Damallsvenskan. She is also a member of the Brazil women's national football team.

She was named FIFA World Player of the Year five consecutive times between 2006 and 2010. She was a member of the Brazilian national teams that won the silver medal at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics. She was also awarded the Golden Ball (MVP) at the 2004 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship. In the 2007 Women's World Cup, she won both the Golden Ball award as the best player and the Golden Boot award as the top scorer. She also tops the all–time Women's World Cup goalscorer list alongside Birgit Prinz.

In January 2013 she was named as one of the six Ambassadors of 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, others being Amarildo, Bebeto, Carlos Alberto Torres, Ronaldo and Mario Zagallo.[1]

Marta was discovered by well-known Brazilian female coach, Helena Pacheco, when she was just 14 years old. Marta went on to play and live at the training facilities of the prestigious Rio de Janeiro football club, Vasco da Gama, for two years until the club ceased operation of its women's professional team in 2001. In 2002 she played for a small club in Minas Gerais which folded at the end of the season.



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When will BBC announce the winner of this award please.