AWCON
Nigerians feature in all categories as CAF releases women nominees for 2022 Awards 
There is prevalence of Nigeria in the three categories of CAF Awards for women footballers as list of nominees is released.
However, the relative dominance by Nigeria is waning. While there are four Nigerians among the 30 nominees for the African Woman Footballer, South Africa has six.
Cameroon also rivals Nigeria with four nominees.
Emerging powerhouse, Morocco has three just like Ghana another former women football stronghold that is fast losing steam.
The prime category covers all players irrespective of where they are based. The four nominees from Nigeria include Asisat Oshoala who is gunning for a record setting fifth win of the award having won in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2019.
She had also won the Youth Player Award in 2014. Among her compatriots jostling for the title in which she is the current holder are Rashedat Ajibade of Atletico Madrid, Chiamaka Nnadozie of Paris FC and Uchenna Kanu of Tigres UNNL.
In the category that deals with CAF clubs’ competition, two Nigerians – Gift Monday who moved from Rivers Angels to FC Robo and her former team mate, Maryann Ezenagu are listed among 20 others.
While two Nigerians club players are listed, Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa have four just like Sekondi Hasaacas of Ghana and AS FAR of Morocco.
Malabo Kings of Equatorial Guinea has three players while Nigeria, Wadi Delga of Egypt has two. AS Mande of Mali has a nominee.
There are 10 nominees for the Young Player of the Year. Nigeria has two players – Flourish Sebastine of Bayelsa Queens and Gift Monday formally of Rivers Angels who is having a second nomination in the CAF Awards.
The list will still be cut down as the award day approaches even as nominees for two other awards – National Team and Coach – are being awaited.
According to CAF, for the purpose of concluding a credible list, the performances at the ongoing Women’s AFCON will be taken into consideration in deciding on the nominees for the National Team and Coach of the Year. The winners of the respective category will be announced at the Awards Gala on 21 July 2022 in Rabat, Morocco.
A panel made up of technical experts, CAF legends and media representatives decided on the first list for the various categories.
The final list will be decided by a voting panel made up of CAF Technical Committee, media representatives, head coaches and captains of Member Associations and clubs involved at the group stage of the Interclub competitions.
The CAF Awards 2022 will be held ahead of the final of Africa’s flagship women’s competitions, TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2022 scheduled to take place between 02 July – 23 July 2022. The event will also coincide with the two-year anniversary of the launch of the CAF Women’s Football Strategy.
Nominees (in alphabetic order by Member Association)
Player of the Year (Women)
· Lesege Radiakanyo (Botswana & Double Action)
· Refilwe Tholakele (Botswana & Township Rollers)
· Rukiya Bizimana (Burundi & Etoile du matin)
· Ajara Nchout Njoya (Cameroon & Internazionale Milano)
· Gabrielle Onguene (Cameroon & CSKA Moscow)
· Jeanette Yango (Cameroon & FC Fleury)
· Rose Bella (Cameroon & Trabzonspor)
· Evelyn Badu (Ghana & Alvaldsnes)
· Doris Boaduwaa (Ghana & Sekondi Hasaacas)
· Perpetual Agyekum (Ghana & Sekondi Hasaacas/Alvaldsnes)
· Sanaa Mssoudy (Morocco & AS FAR)
· Ghizlane Chebbak (Morocco & AS FAR)
· Fatima Tagnaout (Morocco & AS FAR)
· Zenatha Coleman (Namibia & Fenerbahce)
· Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria & Barcelona)
· Rasheedat Ajibade (Nigeria & Atletico Madrid)
· Chiamaka Nnadozie (Nigeria & Paris FC)
· Uchenna Kanu (Nigeria & Tigres UANL)
Andile Dlamini (South Africa & Mamelodi Sundowns)
· Bambanani Mbane (South Africa & Mamelodi Sundowns)
· Chrestinah Thembi Kgatlana (South Africa & Atletico Madrid)
· Jermaine Seoposenwe (South Africa & Sporting Clube de Braga)
· Refiloe Jane (South Africa & AC Milan)
· Linda Motlhalo (South Africa & Djurgardens IF)
· Odette Gnintegma (Togo & Raja Ain Harrouda)
· Mariem Houij (Tunisia & ALG Spor)
· Sabrine Ellouzi (Tunisia & Feyenoord)
· Fazila Ikwaput (Uganda & Dove FC)
· Racheal Kundananji (Zambia & SD Eibar)
· Grace Chanda (Zambia & BIIK Kazygurt)
Interclub Player of the Year (Women)
· Andile Dlamini (Mamelodi Sundowns)
· Bambanani Mbanie (Mamelodi Sundowns)
· Zanele Nhlapho (Mamelodi Sundowns)
· Andisiwe Mgcoyi (Mamelodi Sundowns)
· Evelyn Badu (Sekondi Hasaacas/Alvaldsnes)
· Doris Boaduwaa (Sekondi Hasaacas)
· Janet Egyir (Sekondi Hasaacas)
· Perpetual Agyekum (Sekondi Hasaacas/Alvaldsnes)
· Fatima Zahra Dahmos (AS FAR)
· Ghizlane Chebbak (AS FAR)
· Sanaa Mssoudy (AS FAR)
· Fatima Tagnaout (AS FAR)
· Grace Mfwamba (Malabo Kings)
· Stephanie Gbogou (Malabo Kings)
· Rose Bella (Malabo Kings)
· Fatoumatta Dukureh (Wadi Degla)
· Hayama Abdellatif (Wadi Degla)
· Gift Monday (River Angels/FC Robo)
· Maryann Ezenagu (River Angels)
· Bassira Toure (AS Mande)
Young Player of the Year (Women)
· Rukiya Bizimana (Burundi & Etoile du Matin)
· Rediet Assresahagn (Ethiopia & Hawassa City FC)
· Evelyn Badu (Ghana & Sekondi Hasaacas/Alvaldsnes)
· Doris Boaduwaa (Ghana & Sekondi Hasaacas/Alvaldsnes)
· Yasmine Zouhir (Morocco & AS Saint-Etienne)
· Gift Monday (Nigeria & River Angels/FC Robo)
· Flourish Sebastine (Nigeria & Bayelsa Queens)
· Hapsatou Malado Diallo (Senegal & US Parcelles Assainies)
· Clara Luvanga (Tanzania & Yanga Princess)
· Fauzia Najemba (Uganda & BIIK Kazygurt)
Club of the Year (Women)
· Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)
· Sekondi Hasaacas (Ghana)
· AS FAR (Morocco)
· Malabo Kings (Equatorial Guinea)
· Wadi Degla (Egypt)
· River Angels (Nigeria)
· AS Mande (Mali)
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Dropping a whopping 69.33 points in the current FIFA rankings, Nigeria’s Super Falcons are adjudged as the team with the biggest drop by points.
Though they remain the first in Africa, their global ranking slumped from 39 in on 17 June to 47 on 5 August.
Their slump could be linked to the performances at the last month’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations where they played six matches and won just three, a far cry from their previous outings.
They could not also make a podium appearance. Their conquerors in the bronze medal match, Zambia are adjudged to have both the biggest move by points and also by rank when they moved 23 places up the ladder to 80th position.
Winners of WAFCON, South Africa also have impressive move from 58th in the world to 54th.
In Africa, the African queens moved from third position to second.
At global level, US still remain on top in a ranling that took into consideration 221 matches played since 17 June.
CAF has released the Best XI of the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations following the completion of the history-making tournament in Morocco.
This compilation of players by members of CAF’s Technical Study Group (TSG) brings together the best performers in each position over the last three weeks.
South Africa’s custodian Andile Dlamini, who was named the Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament for her role in guiding Banyana Banyana to victory, starts between the posts. Dlamini kept three clean sheets in the six games her side played and was a leader on and off the pitch.
In a four-woman defensive setup, South Africa’s Bambanani Mbane partners Osinachi Ohale of Nigeria in an enviable pairing that would make many a forward sweat to find the back of the net. Both strong in character provided a protection role for their teams consistently throughout the tournament.
At right back, Zambia’s Margaret Belemu and Zineb Redouani of Morocco who are lethal with and without the ball complete the defense line.
In front of this defensive lineup is the captains’ midfield with Morocco’s Ghizlane Chebbak partnering Grace Chanda from Zambia and Jane Refiloe from South Africa.
The three captains bring a touch of class, an understanding of the game and passing abilities that have the power to change the course and destiny of a game. All three have been nicknamed “conductors”. They take charge and control the ball and make it do as they please. That mastery stood out all tournament – consistently.
Chebbak who was named as the Player of the Tournament was also joint top scorer with three goals.
To complete the fancy 4-3-3 formation, Nigeria’s Rasheedat Ajibade ‘the Blue Haired Girl” also joint top scorer of the tournament with three goals comes in on the right side while Moroccan Fatima Tagnaout brings quality on the left wing and to spice things up, in comes South Africa’s Jermaine Seoposenwe up front to lead the line.
Pace, quick decision-making and an eye for goal is what makes this trio special. With supply from the midfield maestros, scoring goals is as easy as pie.
This 4-3-3 lineup would destroy any opposition in front of them and produce a memorable display of football.
-Cafonline
The Nigeria Football Federation has congratulated Super Falcons’ forward Rasheedat Ajibade for emerging as joint top-scorer of the just-ended 12th Women Africa Cup of Nations finals in Morocco, where the Super Falcons earned a ticket to the FIFA World Cup finals even as the team failed to realize its ambition of a 10th triumph.
NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi said: “We rejoice with Rahseedat Ajibade for her emergence as joint top-scorer of the tournament and we implore her to continue to show even more prolificity and commitment in the jerseys of club and country. Her three goals surely helped the Super Falcons to win a World Cup ticket. Our team would certainly have been in the Final if not for the incident that led to her expulsion in the semi final match against the host nation.
“She probably would have won the award outright if she finished the game and played one more match.”
Ajibade was ejected after 70 minutes of the semi final against Morocco at the Complexe Prince Moulay Abdellah, with Nigeria already one woman down, and the Falcons played the next 50 minutes (of regulation and extra time) with only nine players, losing in the ensuing penalty shoot-out.
In the third-place match against Zambia on Friday, a fierce shot by Evarine Suzeni Katongo in the 28th minute struck the upright and bounced on the back of hardworking goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie for the only goal of the match, with the Falcons failing to convert any of a slew of chances they created.
Sanusi also congratulated Mimisen Calvin-Onwuka, who played the role of Assistant Referee 1 in the Final match between Morocco and South Africa on Saturday, saying her stellar performance alongside referee Salima Mukansanga from Rwanda did not go unnoticed by the global football community. He urged her to continue to develop herself with available top-level courses and programmes in order to continue her rise to global reckoning.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s U20 girls, Falconets have continued their preparations for next month’s FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup finals scheduled for Costa Rica. The girls, who have been training in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja will depart for a one-week training tour in Barranquilla, Colombia, from where the delegation will fly into San Jose for the finals slated for 10th – 28th August.
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