Fifa award nomination shocks Brentford's Cheatley

Ashley Cheatley formerly played at Millwall and QPR

Ashley Cheatley cushions the ball with her right thigh, deftly flicks it over a defender's head, then finds the back of the net with an audacious overhead kick.

The Brentford striker is known by fans as the 'Cheat Code' - and last November scored a goal straight out of a video game.

A year on, that strike - for the now fifth-tier Bees in the FA Cup first round - has been shortlisted for Fifa's Marta Award, which recognises the best goals scored in women's football.

Cheatley, 30, is named alongside the likes of Arsenal and Spain's Mariona Caldentey, Manchester City and Netherlands striker Vivianne Miedema, and Brazil legend Marta, after whom the award is named.

"These are like proper footballers," Cheatley told BBC Sport.

"And then you've got me, who just kicks the ball around on a Sunday for fun!"

Cheatley joined Brentford from Ashford Town before the 2024-25 season and scored 46 goals in all competitions last season as the Bees won promotion from the sixth-tier London & South East Regional Division 1 North.

She says her Marta Award-nominated goal, which opened the scoring in Brentford's FA Cup tie against league-above Ascot United, was more by instinct than design.

"I didn't even think about it," she said.

"It's the perfect touch, really, to kick it up in the air and get it past the defender.

"And then while my back's to goal, there's only one thing I can do from there."

'What is going on?'

Cheatley has scored two goals in six starts for newly promoted Brentford this season

It was not the first time Cheatley had attempted an overhead kick, and she came close at former club Ashford Town, hitting the bar against then title rivals Norwich City.

This time, though, her acrobatic effort was on target and helped the Bees continue a memorable run to the third round of the FA Cup.

The winner of the Marta Award will be determined through a combination of a fan vote and a panel of 'Fifa legends', with the public vote closing on 28 November.

Speaking of her shock at the nomination, Cheatley said: "I was sitting in the bath and all these messages were coming through and I'm like, 'what is this?'

"I sent the image to my family group chat, and no-one had really reacted.

"So I got myself ready, went downstairs and I'm like, 'have you just seen what has happened?'

"I still don't think I've accepted it.

"I was sat in Tesco earlier in the car park thinking 'is this real? What is going on?'"

'My life is Brentford'

From a family of Brentford season-ticket holders, Cheatley can see G-Tech Community Stadium from her house in west London.

And when she is not scoring goals for them, Cheatley is part of the team providing technical support for the club's online ticketing platform.

"My life is basically Brentford, in a nutshell," she said.

It's surreal, then, when she sees fans wearing jumpers bearing her nickname 'Cheat Code' at Brentford games.

Now she has got the world-class goal to go with the moniker, does she fancy her chances of winning the award outright?

"Oh, I don't. I'm going to be real about it," she said.

"And if I was to never score another wonder goal ever for the rest of my career, that's absolutely fine by me."