The last four teams that battled for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games women’s football tournament will be battling again for another laurel, the National Team of the Year Award.

Nigeria eliminated South Africa while Zambia edged out Morocco to pick the two African slots. The fifth team shortlisted for the CAF Award is Cameroon’s Under 20 women’s team.

The Shortlist in alphabetical order:  

1.     Cameroon U-20

2.     Morocco

3.     Nigeria

4.     South Africa

5.     Zambia

The Confederation of African Football on Sunday unveiled the 11 nominees for the Goal of the Year category of the CAF Awards 2024 which is holding in two weeks in Morocco.

Highlighting the nomination is the goal scored by Algeria’s Yassine Benzia against South Africa in an international friendly match. The goal from an overhead kick is also nominated for the FIFA Puskas Award 2024 of the FIFA The Best Award.

The shortlist revealed on Sunday is created by an expert CAF Technical Panel and features 11 goals scored in CAF competitions between January and October 2024, reflecting the incredible talent of players across the continent.

Fans are called upon as voting opens this Sunday and will close on Thursday, 12 December, 2024.

To facilitate voting, CAF has created a dedicated platform available on the CAF website and official social media channels.

Fans can participate in the process and select  their favourite goal, with their votes counting towards 70% of the overall score. The other 30% is made up of the selections by CAF’s Technical Experts.

Voting is now openHERE.

The winner will be announced during the glittering CAF Awards Gala, scheduled for Monday, 16 December 2024, in Marrakech, Morocco.

This category stands out as the only CAF award with input from the sporting public, emphasising the power of fans in determining the winner.

The 11 nominees for CAF Goal of the Year 2024:

Abdul Aziz Issah (Dreams FC) – Dreams FC vs APC Lobito (CAF Confederation Cup)

Aboubakary Koita (Mauritania) – Mauritania vs Angola (AFCON 2023)

Denis Omedi (Kitara FC) – Kitara FC vs KCCA FC (FUFA Super 8)

Ibrahim Adel (Egypt) – Mauritania vs Egypt (AFCON 2025 Qualifiers)

Kevin Pina (Cape Verde) – Cape Verde vs Mozambique (AFCON 2023)

Cristovao Mabululu (Angola) – Angola vs Namibia (AFCON 2023)

Nene Dorgeles (Mali) – Mali vs Côte d’Ivoire (AFCON 2023)

Saïd Benrahma (Algeria) – Algeria vs Togo (AFCON 2025 Qualifiers)

Sébastien Haller (Côte d’Ivoire) – Nigeria vs Côte d’Ivoire (AFCON 2023)

Wessam Abou Ali (Al Ahly) – Al Ahly vs TP Mazembe (CAF Champions League)

Yassine Benzia (Algeria) – Algeria vs South Africa (FIFA Series 2024 Algeria)

Two Nigerian women footballers, Rasheedat Ajibade and goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie are among the 10 shortlisted for the women’s version of the African Footballer of Year.

The Confédération of African Football (CAF) on Wednesday night unveiled the list.

The shortlist comprises of players featuring on the continent and abroad.

Apart from the two Nigerians, the others are Sandrine Niyonkuru (Burundi / FC Masar), Tabitha Chawinga (Malawi / Olympique Lyonnais), Temwa Chawinga (Malawi / Kansas City), Sanaa Mssoudy (Morocco / AS FAR), Jermaine Seoposenwe (South Africa / Monterrey), Thembi Kgatlana (South Africa / Tigres UANL), Barbara Banda (Zambia / Orlando Pride) and Racheal Kundananji (Zambia / Bay FC).

The CAF Interclub Women’s Player of the Year is also an exciting category to look out for, with six of the 10 nominees currently vying for the ongoing CAF Women’s Champions League title in Morocco.

The recognition of the best coach in the women’s football will also be recognised at the glittering ceremony evening.

The list of nominees includes young and emerging African women’s football coaches such as Mildred Cheche (Kenya) who qualified the Kenyan U-17 national team to its first ever FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, as well Thinasonke Mbuli who guided UWC to a historic qualification to the CAF Women’s Champions League amongst others.

The winners of each category will be determined through votes from a diverse panel, including the CAF Technical Committee, media professionals, and the Head Coaches & Captains of Member Associations, as well as clubs participating in the group stages of CAF Interclub competitions.

The CAF Awards 2024 cover the period between January 2024 and October 2024.