When Super Falcons forward Rinsola Babajide speaks about resilience, it carries weight. The AS Roma attacker recently revealed that she once faced ethnicity-based barriers after a club refused to sign her on the grounds that her name was “not marketable”.

For many young players, such a comment might have crushed confidence. Instead, she turned it into fuel.

According to her account, the rejection was not about ability but branding — a suggestion that “Rinsola Babajide” would be difficult to sell. Yet football has always had a way of answering prejudice on the pitch rather than in boardrooms. Rather than shrinking herself to fit expectations, she focused on performance. The response was emphatic.

On 21 April 2019, playing for Liverpool Women in the Women’s Super League, she scored her first professional hat-trick in a 5–2 victory against Bristol City Women — the very club that had reportedly declined to sign her.

In doing so, she forced them to write her full name three times on the scoresheet. It was not merely a sporting achievement; it was a statement.

Moments like this resonate far beyond one match. In women’s football, where visibility and representation are still evolving, stories of identity being questioned are not uncommon. However, Babajide’s experience highlights a deeper issue — how cultural names and heritage are sometimes viewed through a commercial lens rather than celebrated as part of the sport’s global fabric.

At the same time, her hat-trick symbolised more than revenge. It demonstrated the power of self-belief and the refusal to dilute identity for acceptance. For young players of African heritage, especially those navigating European football systems, her journey offers a compelling reminder: talent cannot be reduced to a marketing concern.

Now representing both the Super Falcons and AS Roma, Babajide’s career continues to gather momentum. Yet it is that afternoon in April 2019 that stands out as poetic justice — proof that performance can silence bias in the most definitive way possible.

In football, names matter. On that day, hers was written three times.