Nigeria were two goals down to Morocco in Rabat with half an hour of the 2025 Women's Africa Cup of Nations final left, and Deborah Abiodun was still running. She had started that final on 26 July. She finished it too, every minute, as the Super Falcons scored three times to win a 10th continental title. Fifteen months on, the midfielder they call Kante is recovering from surgery in America, and her Washington Spirit pay has never been made public.

From Ibadan to Pittsburgh

Abiodun was born in Ibadan. She passed through the Nasarawa State Sport Academy before Rivers Angels gave her a place in the Nigeria Women Premier League, and her performances there earned a full scholarship from the University of Pittsburgh, where the coach was Randy Waldrum, the same man then running the Super Falcons.

College went quickly. Two seasons, 34 games, 10 goals.

In 2023 the Panthers reached the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time, with Abiodun scoring in tournament wins over Ohio State and Memphis. Injury cost her six games in 2024. She still led the team with four ACC goals.

Melbourne and Rabat

Her senior debut came in a 4-0 friendly defeat to the United States in September 2022. Then came Melbourne. Against Canada on 21 July 2023, in her first senior World Cup match, she shadowed the Olympic champions' midfield through a 0-0 draw that Chiamaka Nnadozie preserved by saving a Christine Sinclair penalty. Deep in stoppage time her studs caught Ashley Lawrence above the ankle. VAR upgraded the yellow to the first red card of the tournament.

The Kante comparisons began that night. They stuck.

Paris 2024 was grim: three starts, three Olympic defeats. The 2025 WAFCON in Morocco was kinder, and she played all five matches, starting three, including the final. President Bola Tinubu conferred the OON on all 24 players on 28 July 2025 and promised each the naira equivalent of $100,000 plus a three-bedroom apartment. In August 2025 Rasheedat Ajibade said the cash had not arrived. We could not confirm whether it has since been paid.

The 2026 WAFCON went wrong on day one, when Malawi beat Nigeria 3-2. Abiodun was in the side that steadied things against Zambia, a 1-0 win played largely with ten players after Oluwatosin Demehin was sent off. “We had one goal going forward and we are happy that we got the three points and making Nigerians proud as always,” she told reporters. Egypt were then beaten 6-2, but Cameroon ended the title defence 1-0 in the quarter-final on 9 August. South Africa then won the World Cup play-off 2-1.

Dallas, Washington and the injury

Washington signed her on 6 January 2025. “I'm beyond thrilled to take this next step in my career by joining Washington Spirit,” she said in the club's announcement, before being loaned with Tamara Bolt to Dallas Trinity FC of the USL Super League, where she made 13 appearances until her recall on 26 August 2025.

Her NWSL debut followed five days later in a 1-1 draw with Chicago Stars FC. By July 2026 the club counted 20 matches, one goal and one assist. This season brought nine appearances and 320 minutes. Then, in September, the Spirit moved her to the season-ending injury list and confirmed surgery, without naming the injury.

So she was missing from Augustine Eguavoen's 28-player list for the Olympic qualifier against Comoros.

Deborah Abiodun salary: what is known

Not the number. Under the NWSL's collective bargaining agreement, the league and its clubs cannot disclose a player's salary to third parties without the written consent of the NWSL Players Association, and Spotrac's page on Abiodun shows the length of her deal but no figures. Any precise salary circulating online is a guess.

The framework is public. The league minimum is $50,500 for 2026, roughly ₦67.3 million at the official NFEM rate of ₦1,332.26 to the dollar on 16 October 2026. It rises to $65,000 in 2027, the last guaranteed year of her deal. Clubs work under a base cap of $3.5 million. Where she sits between the floor and the stars, only she, the club and the union know, as with Asisat Oshoala's NWSL salary.

Our view

She turns 23 on 2 November. The rehabilitation is long and the contract is short, which makes 2027 the biggest season of her club career so far, and the Falcons, whatever follows Eguavoen's interim spell, need a ball-winner who has already done it in a final. Oyo State has produced a few; our state-of-origin map shows the rest.

Get well soon, Kante.

This article was most recently revised and updated 11 seconds ago