The women’s game continues to grow by leaps and bounds, and toward the end of another monumental 12 months, it’s only fitting that ESPN FC Women’s Rank, our ranking of the top 50 women footballers in the world, returns. As much as we saw the power balance change within teams this year, we saw a whole lot of movement on our top 50 player list, as well as some new faces too.
We’ve conducted this ranking for the past three years (read 2021, 2022 and 2023 here) and the changes in our ranking reflect the ever-evolving landscape of the sport. There were just four Americans last time, and none in the top 10 after a disastrous World Cup for the U.S. women’s national team — but after claiming gold at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, eight American players have made our list, including three in the top 10.
Unsurprisingly, 2023 World Cup winners Spain are still the leaders with nine players on the list, while there are six from France and World Cup runners-up England. In total, 19 different countries are represented, including players from Malawi and Zambia for the first time.
When it comes to their clubs, we have 16 different teams represented. Barcelona lead the way with 11 players, with Chelsea (7) and Lyon (6) behind them. The NWSL also contributes 13 players from…
