2024 Annual List of the 50 Best Women’s Players in Soccer Unveiled on ESPN.com

With the NWSL Playoffs in full swing, ESPN.com unveiled its annual ranking of the world’s top 50 women’s soccer players in 2024.

Orlando Pride’s Barbra Banda and Marta, considered the greatest woman player in soccer, as well as KC Current’s Temwa Chawinga, are among the 50 players selected by a panel of 18 women’s soccer experts and journalists from around the world.

ESPN.com General Editor Caitlin Murray sat down with Front Row to discuss the selection of the panel and to explain how the ranking works. |

How did you determine the criteria for the ranking, and what considerations went into selecting players?
We wanted to create a definitive ranking, so we sought input from women’s soccer experts from around the world. Among those on our 18-member voter panel were Kansas City Current head coach and former U.S. national team manager Vlatko Andonovski, Chelsea head coach and former Lyon head coach Sonia Bompastor, and several other head coaches and general managers.

We asked our voters to consider the past 12 months of competition, voting on each player’s individual performance. We created a ranked ballot where voters picked their top 50 in order. Each time a player landed at No. 1 on a ballot, she earned 50 points. Conversely, if a player was voted at No. 50, she earned one point. We tallied it all and came up with our final ranking.

We’ve ended up with a ranking that reflects the year players on national teams and clubs had. After only four U.S. players made the list last year, none in the top 10, on the back of a poor World Cup, the USWNT is represented in strong numbers again after winning gold at the Olympics: Eight Americans made our list this year, with three in the top 10 including Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Naomi Girma.

It wasn’t easy getting everyone to participate, but in the end, we’ve achieved a top 50 that reflects the state of women’s soccer and will be a lot of fun for fans to debate. – Caitlin Murray, ESPN.com General Editor, on the world women’s soccer player rankings

This is the fourth annual ranking. What did you learn about the process, and what has changed from previous years?
In the weeks leading up to the top 50 announcement, we ran a fan vote campaign to see who our readers would choose at No. 1 compared to our experts.

For the first time, we presented a trophy to the winner picked by our expert panel. In addition, we are launching the top 50 as not just a digital editorial piece on ESPN.com but also as part of a special ESPN+ broadcast of the show Futbol W. We worked more closely with the ESPN Social team, design, ESPN Research, and others, demonstrating what’s possible when we work together.

Which part of the process was particularly challenging this year compared to the past?
In an effort to come up with an unimpeachable ranking, we set a high bar for our expert voting panel, which meant seeking out some important and busy people in the world of women’s soccer. It wasn’t easy getting everyone to participate, but in the end, we’ve achieved a top 50 that reflects the state of women’s soccer and will be a lot of fun for fans to debate.