Nigeria Super Falcons midfielder Halimatu Ayinde wins the inaugural UEFA Women’s Europa Cup as BK Häcken defeated Hammarby IF 3–2 in the second leg, securing a 4–2 aggregate victory at the Hisingen Arena on Friday, www.aclsports.com reports.
Ayinde’s triumph makes her only the second Super Falcons player to win a UEFA club competition, joining Asisat Oshoala, who has won the UEFA Women’s Champions League three times with FC Barcelona Femení. Although Ayinde, who joined Häcken in January, was not named in the matchday squad.
In the all-Swedish final, Häcken came into the return leg with a 1–0 advantage from the first leg played on 25 April at Stockholm Arena, where Felicia Schröder scored the only goal in the 22nd minute.
Schröder ensured Häcken made a fast start, scoring twice inside the opening ten minutes. She opened the scoring in the 6th minute with a low finish into the bottom-right corner before poking home the second in the 9th minute after a pass from captain Anna Anvegård, extending Häcken’s aggregate lead to 3–0.
Hammarby responded before the break as Svea Rehnberg scored with a header in the 26th minute. The visitors continued their push after half-time when Elin Sørum added a second in the 47th minute, squeezing the ball into the near corner from Vilma Koivisto’s looping corner to reduce the deficit to 3–2 on aggregate.
With the contest still open, Schröder completed her hat-trick in the 54th minute, running through after a sharp exchange with Anvegård down the right and curling a composed finish into the near corner to restore Häcken’s two-goal cushion. Hammarby pressed late on, but Häcken held firm to secure the victory.
Schröder became only the second player to score a UEFA Women’s Europa Cup hat-trick (excluding qualifying), after Michaela Khýrová for Sparta Praha Women in the round of 16, and only the third player to score a hat-trick in a UEFA women’s final, after Inka Grings and Ada Hegerberg. She was also named Player of the Match in both legs and finished as the competition’s top scorer with eight goals.
On the touchline, Elena Sadiku guided Häcken to glory, continuing her rapid rise in coaching. The 32-year-old previously won the Scottish Women’s Premier League with Celtic FC Women and led them to their first UEFA Women’s Champions League appearance, becoming the youngest coach in the competition’s history at 30.
By winning the competition, Häcken have qualified for the third qualifying round of the 2026–27 UEFA Women’s Champions League. For Ayinde, who adds another trophy to her cabinet, it is a defining career moment and another milestone for Nigerian football.
