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WILFRED NDIDI, FALCONS & THOMAS DENNERBY STILL IN CONTENTION FOR CAF AWARDS

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Apart from the quartet of Alex Iwobi in the African Footballer of the Year and Asisat Oshoala, Francisca Ordega and Onome Ebi, Nigeria still eyes awards in three other categories of the 2018 CAF Awards holding early next month in Senegal.

  Super Eagles’ Wilfred Ndidi who features for Leicester City in the English Premiership is in line for the Youth Player of the Year Award. His challengers are Achraf Hakimi of Morocco & Borussia Dortmund as well as Franck Kessie of Cote d’Ivoire & AC Milan.

  Nine time African champions, Super Falcons are shortlisted along with Cameroon and South Africa for the Women’s National Team of the Year Award. The three teams will be at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France next year. Nigeria beat the other two countries via penalty shoot-out in the semi finals and final respectively of the CAF Women’s Nations Cup inGhana.

  The coaches of the three women’s teams are also in line for the Women’s Coach of the Year Award. For the Men’s National team of the Year, the big teams are glaringly absent. The shortlisted are Madagascar, Mauritania and Uganda.

  Madagascar, the home country for CAF president, Ahmad, got into reckoning by becoming the first team to qualify for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. The team will make a debut at the competition which venue remains undecided.

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  Hard playing Uganda qualified back-to-back for the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time since their 1976 and 1978 qualifications.

  Mauritania is another surprise qualifier for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, profiting from the disqualification of Sierra Leone. Like Madagascar, Mauritania will be debuting at 2019 Afcon.

Youth Player of the Year

1. Achraf Hakimi (Morocco & Borussia Dortmund)

 2. Franck Kessie (Cote d’Ivoire & AC Milan)

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3. Wilfred Ndidi (Nigeria & Leicester City)

Men’s Coach of the Year

1. Aliou Cisse (Senegal)

2. Herve Renard (Morocco)

3. Moine Chaabani (Esperance)

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Women’s Coach of the Year

 1. Desiree Ellis (South Africa)

 2. Joseph Brian Ndoko (Cameroon)

3. Thomas Dennerby (Nigeria)

Men’s National Team of the Year

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1. Madagascar

2. Mauritania

3. Uganda

Women’s National Team of the Year

1. Cameroon

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2. Nigeria

3. South Africa

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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