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]
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 |
As of 2023, 36 individual players have been included in the "top 10" of the Top 100 list.
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 different 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 |
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 |
As of the 2023 edition, players playing for 89 different clubs have been selected. French club Lyon has had the most players in the Top 100 with 103 total 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.
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 |
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