Jamaican Khadija “Bunny” Shaw scored the most goals in the Barclays Women’s Super League (WSL) in 2023. Her goal total reached 21 for the year in the 10 games she played to date, displaying her outstanding talent and solidifying her position as one of the most promising players in the league.
Hailed on Instagram
The Reggae Girlz Foundation congratulated Shaw via Instagram, posting, “Congratulations to Reggae Girl @bun_bun10 for topping the 2023 @barclayswsl goal scorers list with 21 goals.” Her achievement was the second in a single week as Shaw also made history with her three hat tricks in a calendar year by a player in the WSL. With her 21 goals in 2023, Shaw easily beat out her nearest competitor, Rachel Daly of Aston Villa, who ended the season with 18 goals.
Notable Achievements
With her 21 goals, Shaw put her current club, Manchester City, in second place for the 2023/2024 season with 22 points, only three behind the leader, Chelsea. It also puts her ahead of her competitors for the Golden Boot award going into the new year. Shaw is continuing to build on her achievements of last season by scoring 31 goals in all competitions – 30 matches – and setting a record across a single campaign for the Manchester City women’s team. Last season, Shaw was named Women’s Player of the Season by fans and shortlisted for the equivalent award by the Barclays Women’s Super League. Her record means that she scored goals at a rate of over once per game. With the addition of assists to her total, her involvement with goals, overall, reached 40. Twenty of these goals were scored in the WSL, two in two UEFA Women’s Champions League matches, two in two Continental Cup competitions, and seven in three FA Cup appearances.
Background and Career Highlights
Khadija Monifa “Bunny” Shaw CD was born in 1997 in Spanish Town, Jamaica. She was named “Bunny” by her brother because she enjoyed eating carrots as a child. She was a student at St Jago High School and began playing football with her brothers. When she was 13, she was called to Jamaica’s U15 team for the first time. She won scholarships to Navarro College in Texas and Eastern Florida State College before being scouted by the University of Tennessee, where she received a degree in communications. During her time at Eastern Florida State, she received NSCAA first-team National Junior College Athletic Association All-American honors in 2016. When she transferred to Tennessee, she was named to the All-SEC and SEC Offensive Player of the Year in 2018. In 2019, she signed with the D1 Féminine team Bordeaux and made her first professional appearance against FC Fleury 91, scoring twice and leading the team to a 4-1 victory. In her first season, she scored 10 goals and made five assists in 15 matches. In 2021, her outstanding performance brought her the Division 1 Féminine Player of the Month in October 2020 and January 2021. She finished her second league season with 22 goals and seven assists in 20 matches to be named top goal scorer.
Exceptional Goal-Scoring Talent
In 2021, Shaw signed with Manchester City in a three-year contract, scoring her first hat trick against Leicester City. She was the joint top scorer for Manchester City in the 2021-2022 Women’s League Cup and finished her first season as the team’s second-highest goal scorer with a total of 16 goals. Her breakout year was her second with the club. In 2023, she scored 26 goals in 22 games and became Manchester City’s highest-scoring women’s player in a single season. She became the first Caribbean player in history to win the CONCACAF Female Player of the Year in 2022. At the end of that season, she had scored 31 goals in 30 games with Manchester City and was named the club’s Player of the Season. Her goal versus Arsenal in April 2023 was named the club’s Goal of the Season, and Shaw was included in the 2023 PFA WSL Team of the Year. She was also one of 30 players nominated for the Women’s Ballon d’Or Féminin.
