It’s Nigeria and Morocco all the way as women nominees are unveiled in CAF Awards

BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

Nigeria features prominently in all categories as CAF unveils  the preliminary nominees for the various women’s categories for the CAF Awards 2023.
Reigning queen, Asisat Oshoala leads a pack of seven Super Falcons in the lead category.
She will be hoping for a record extending sixth win among the 30 nominees.
Next in the ‘game of numbers’ is Morocco with five nominees.

A distinguished panel made up of CAF Technical Experts, Legends, and selected media representatives decided on the nominees, taking into consideration their performances at all levels from December 2022 to November 2023.

Just as in the men’s category, the best women’s goalkeeper will be rewarded for the first time to celebrate the heroic efforts of the shot-stoppers. Ten players have been nominated for the first-ever CAF Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year award.

In the other categories, 30 players will vie for the prestigious Player of the Year, which Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala claimed for a record fifth time during the last Awards Gala in July 2022 in Rabat, Morocco

Ten nominees each have been penciled for the Interclub Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, National Team of the Year and Young Player of the Year, limited to players not more than 21 years.

The finalists of the ongoing CAF Women’s Champions League Cote d’Ivoire 2023 have each been rewarded with a place in the Club of the Year category.

The winner of each category will be decided after votes from a voting panel consisting of CAF Technical Committee, media professionals from Member Associations, Head Coaches & Captains of Member Associations and clubs involved at the group stages of the Interclub competitions.

The Awards Gala is to be graced by the crème de la crème of African football on 11 December 2023 in Marrakech, Morocco.

Full List of Nominees (in alphabetic order by Member Association):

Player of the Year (Women)

1.     Ajara Nchout Njoya (Cameroon, Internazionale Milano)

2.     Evelyn Badu (Ghana, Avaldnes)

3.     Tabitha Chawinga (Malawi, Paris Saint-Germain)

4.     Temwa Chawinga (Malawi, Wuhan Jiangda)

5.     Anissa Lahmari (Morocco, Levante Las Planas)

6.     Fatima Tagnaout (Morocco, AS FAR)

7.     Ghizlaine Chebbak (Morocco, AS FAR)

8.     Ibtissam Jraidi (Morocco, AS FAR/Al Ahli)

9.     Khadija Er-Rmichi (Morocco, AS FAR)

10.  Zenatha Coleman (Namibia, Fenerbahce)

11.  Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria, Barcelona)

12.  Chiamaka Nnadozie (Nigeria, Paris FC)

13.  Christy Ucheibe (Nigeria, Benfica)

14.  Osinachi Ohale (Nigeria, Alaves/Pachuca)

15.  Rasheedat Ajibade (Nigeria, Atletico Madrid)

16.  Toni Payne (Nigeria, Sevilla)

17.  Uchenna Kanu (Nigeria, Tigres/Racing Louisville)

18.  Ndeye Awa Diakhaté (Senegal, Olympique de Marseille)

19.  Andile Dlamini (South Africa, Mamelodi Sundowns)

20.  Hilda Magaia (South Africa, Sejong Sportstoto)

21.  Jermaine Seoposenwe (South Africa, Juarez/Monterrey)

22.  Linda Motlhalo (South Africa, Glasgow City)

23.  Refiloe Jane (South Africa, Sassuolo)

24.  Thembi Kgatlana (South Africa, Racing Louisville)

25.  Afi Sabine Woedikou (Togo, Strasbourg/Nantes)

26.  Sabrina Ellouzi (Tunisia, Excelsior)

27.  Fazila Ikwaput (Uganda, Kampala Queens)

28.  Barbara Banda (Zambia, Shanghai Shengli)

29.  Grace Chanda (Zambia, Madrid CFF)

30.  Rachael Kundananji (Zambia, Madrid CFF)

Goalkeeper of the Year (Women)

1.     Ange Bawou (Cameroon, Bayelsa Queens/ BIIK-Shymkent)

2.     Dolores Hernandez Masongo (Equatorial Guinea, Huracanes)

3.     Imane Abdelahad (Morocco, SC Casablanca)

4.     Khadija Er-Rmichi (Morocco, AS FAR)

5.     Chiamaka Nnadozie (Nigeria, Paris FC)

6.     Andile Dlamini (South Africa, Mamelodi Sundowns)

7.     Kaylin Swart (South Africa, JVW)

8.     Najiat Abass Idrisa (Tanzania, JKT Queens)

9.     Catherine Musonda (Zambia, Tomiris Turan)

10.  Cynthia Shongwe (Zimbabwe, Harare City)

Interclub Player of the Year (Women)

1.     Refilwe Tholakele (Botswana, Mamelodi Sundowns)

2.     N’Guessan Nadege Koffi (Cote d’Ivoire, SC Casablanca)

3.     Elena Oyana (Equatorial Guinea, Huracanes)

4.     Comfort Yeboah (Ghana, Ampem Darkoa)

5.     Tracy Twum (Ghana, Ampem Darkoa)

6.     Oumou Kone (Mali, AS Mande)

7.     Aziza Rabbah (Morocco, AS FAR)

8.     Fatima Tagnaout (Morocco, AS FAR)

9.     Ghizlaine Chebbak (Morocco, AS FAR)

10.  Lebohang Ramalepe (South Africa, Mamelodi Sundowns)

Young Player of the Year (not more than 21 years)

1.     Comfort Yeboah (Ghana, Ampem Darkoa)

2.     Mary Amponsah (Ghana, Ampem Darkoa)

3.     Nesryne El Chad (Morocco, Lille)

4.     Deborah Abiodun (Nigeria, Pittsburg Panthers)

5.     Esther Opeyemi Ajakaye (Nigeria, Delta Queens)

6.     Oluwatosin Demehin (Nigeria, Stade Reims)

7.     Hapsatou Malado Diallo (Senegal, USPA/Eibar)

8.     Thubelihle Shamase (South Africa, University of Johannesburg FC)

9.     Winifreda Gerald (Tanzania, JKT Queens)

10.  Fauzia Najjemba (Uganda, Dynamo Moscow)

Coach of the Year (Women)

1.     Nana Joe Adarkwa (Ampem Darkoa)

2.     Lovemore Fazili (Malawi)

3.     Mehdi El Qaichouri (SC Casablanca)

4.     Mohamed Amine Alioua (AS FAR)

5.     Reynald Pedros (Morocco)

6.     Randy Waldrum (Nigeria)

7.     Mame Moussa Cisse (Senegal)

8.     Desiree Ellis (South Africa)

9.     Jerry Tshabalala (Mamelodi Sundowns)

10.  Esther Chabruma (JKT Queens)

National Team of the Year (Women)

1.     Burkina Faso

2.     Burundi

3.     Ghana

4.     Malawi

5.     Morocco

6.     Nigeria

7.     Senegal

8.     South Africa

9.     Tanzania

10.  Zambia

Club of the Year (Women)

1.     Athletico d’Abidjan (Cote d’Ivoire)

2.     Huracanes (Equatorial Guinea)

3.     Ampem Darkoa (Ghana)

4.     AS Mande (Mali)

5.     AS FAR (Morocco)

6.     SC Casablanca (Morocco)

7.     Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)

8.     JKT Queens (Tanzania)

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