CAF AWARDS
Nnadozie set to become the first goalkeeper to be crowned as African soccer queen
Anxiety continues to mount ahead of Monday’s CAF Awards in Marrakech, Morocco. Three women’s players have been shortlisted for the Feminine Lead award, the African Woman Footballer of the Year.
The winner will be a successor to Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala, the current queen who has also won for a record six times. Late Thursday night, CAF narrowed the possible winners to three.
Nigeria’s Chiamaka Nnadozie is one of the trio that included Zambia striker Barbra Banda and Morocco forward Sanaâ Mssoudy.
If Nnadozie wins, she will be the first goalkeeper to win the award since 2001. The winner will also be the 11th winner in 23 years. There have been players who won multiple times.
For instance, Oshoala won six times while compatriots, Perpetua Nkwocha and Cynthia Uwak won four and two times respectively.
There were no awards in 2009, 2013, 2020 and 2021. This year’s winner will be unveiled on Monday at the Palais des Congrès in Marrakech, Morocco from 19h00 local time (18h00 GMT/ 20h00 Cairo time/ 21h00 East African time).
The final three are outstanding players shone throughout the year and in their own way have embodied the excellence and passion of African football.
BARBRA BANDA (ZAMBIA)
Club: Orlando Pride, United StatesThe year 2024 has been synonymous with memorable exploits for Zambia’s Copper Queens.
During the Paris Olympic Games, Banda, 24, made history by becoming the first player to score a third hat-trick at the Olympics after her two brilliant previous performances in Japan three years earlier.
After four successful years at Shanghai Shengli in China, she made a fresh start by joining Orlando Pride in the United States, becoming the second most expensive player in women’s football history.
In her first season in the National Women’s Soccer League, the Zambian captain caused a sensation by scoring the decisive goal in the final of the playoffs, one of 17 she managed in 25 games.
This earned her the title of the championship’s Most Valuable Player of 2024, thus confirming her status as an exceptional player.
SANAÂ MSSOUDY (MOROCCO)
Club: AS FAR, Morocco
Named the Best Player of the 2024 CAF Women’s Champions League, Mssoudy lit up the competition with her exceptional performances, playing a key role in her team’s run to the final.
With her vision for the game, her refined technique and offensive instinct, she knew how to make the difference during crucial moments.
Her leadership on the pitch, combined with her unfailing determination, inspired her teammates and won over the fans.
This recognition crowns an exceptional year, marked by her commitment and her contribution to the influence of women’s football in Africa.
CHIAMAKA NNADOZIE (NIGERIA)
Club: Paris FC, France
In this new season, Nnadozie continues to confirm her status as a world-class goalkeeper.
With regular top performances and decisive saves, she has asserted herself as a crucial figure for Paris FC in France’s Division 1 Féminine.
Her clean sheet ratio of 33% testifies to his efficiency and the ability to keep the team in title contention, providing reassuring security at the back.
The 24-year-old was named Goalkeeper of the Season in the 2023/24 Division 1 Féminine as her side finished third in the league.
She also represented Nigeria at the Paris Olympic Games and as the season progresses, she hopes to continue to push her limits and play an instrumental role in her team’s future success.
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And so, the suspense lingers! The world will have to wait till 16 December 9 to know the top three in the prime award of the 2024 CAF Awards – Africa Footballer of the Year.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) in a press release on Thursday night admitted that there is so little to choose in the voting between the remaining nominees in the race for the coveted Men’s Player of the Year at the 2024 CAF Awards.
The shortlist was expected to be pruned to three. But the “organisers have kept intact the full list of five names ahead of the ceremony in Marrakech, Morocco on Monday.”
It was also suggested that the retaining of the five “adds to the suspense on the evening in what has been one of the most closely fought contests in the history of the Award, with five outstanding candidates hoping to write their names into the rich history of football on the continent.”
The 2024 CAF Awards ceremony takes place at the Palais des Congrès and will kick off at 19:00 local time (18:00 GMT/ 20:00 Cairo time/ 21:00 East African time).
The five contestants in alphabetical order of their nationalities are:
SIMON ADINGRA (COTE D’IVOIRE)
Club: Brighton & Hove Albion, England
Winger Adingra was a key figure for Cote d’Ivoire in their rollercoaster run to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations title on home soil in February.
He scored a 90th minute equaliser in an extra-time victory against Mali in the quarter-finals and provided two assists in the final against Nigeria as The Elephants put behind them a difficult start to the campaign to lift the trophy. He was named Best Young Player at the tournament.
The 22-year-old has also been a key performer for Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League this calendar year, part of an exciting and talented young squad of players.
SERHOU GUIRASSY (GUINEA)
Club: Borussia Dortmund, Germany
Guirassy scored a remarkable 30 goals in as many games for German Bundesliga side Stuttgart in the 2023-24 season and has carried on that form following a move to Borussia Dortmund for the new campaign.
His tally of 28 Bundesliga goals in the season beat Stuttgart’s previous record of 25, set by Mario Gómez in the 2008-09. Only Bayern Munich forward Harry Kane managed more goals than Guirassy in the campaign.
The 28-year-old scored 23 goals for club and country in the period under review (January-October 2024), including a hat-trick for Guinea against Ethiopia in the Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 qualifiers, and two more a week later against the same opponents.
ACHRAF HAKIMI (MOROCCO)
Club: Paris Saint-Germain, France
Hakimi has long been one of the most consistent right-backs in European football and had an excellent year for Paris Saint-Germain, who he helped win a third French Ligue 1 title in a row last season.
PSG did the ‘Double’ with victory in the Coupe de France final over Lyon in May, while Hakimi also helped Morocco to a bronze medal at the Paris Olympic Games.
With his quality and leadership, he remains a key figure for the Morocco national team and played in 14 internationals in 2024, scoring at the Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023 against the Democratic Republic of Congo.
ADEMOLA LOOKMAN (NIGERIA)
Club: Atalanta, Italy
Lookman has been in the form of his life in 2024, helping turn his Italian Serie A side Atalanta into title contenders and taking them to a UEFA Europa League trophy win, a first major piece of silverware for the club in 61 years.
The 27-year-old scored a hat-trick in the decider as Atalanta became the only team in the 2023-24 campaign to inflict a defeat on German Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen as the forward provided one of the great final displays in European football history.
Lookman also helped Nigeria to the final of theAfrica Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023, where they lost to the hosts. His displays, and three goals, did not go unnoticed as he was named in the Team of the Tournament.
RONWEN WILLIAMS (SOUTH AFRICA)
Club: Mamelodi Sundowns, South Africa
Goalkeeper Williams’ spectacular penalty saves at the Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023 will live long in the memory as he captained South Africa to the bronze medal.
Along the way they beat more fancied Morocco in the round of 16, before Williams’ shoot-out heroics saw the side past Cape Verde and DR Congo. He also helped Bafana Bafana qualify for Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2025 and was a nominee for FIFA’s Yashin Trophy for best goalkeeper in 2024.
The 32-year-old helped his club Mamelodi Sundowns set a joint record low of 11 goals conceded in 30 games in the South African Premiership as The Brazilians romped to a record-extending seventh domestic league title in succession.
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The 2024 CAF Awards will see a new Men’s Player of the Year crowned when they are staged in Marrakech, Morrocco on Monday, 16 December, the latest recipient of a prize that has celebrated the continent’s elite players in various guises since 1970.
This year’s gala ceremony will be at the Palais des Congrès with the ceremony set to kick off at 19h00 local time (18h00 GMT/ 20h00 Cairo time/ 21h00 East African time).
One of the highlights of the night will be the unveiling of the Men’s Player of the Year, with five nominees still in the running.
Cote d’Ivoire and Brighton & Hove Albion winger Simon Adingra is among the contenders, along with Borussia Dortmund’s Guinea international striker Serhou Guirassy and Morocco right-back Achraf Hakimi, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain.
Atalanta’s exciting winger Ademola Lookman will be the pick of Nigeria fans, while Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams will hope his exploits for South Africa at TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023 see him claim the prize.
The African Footballer of the Year was first established by France Football magazine 54 years ago, with the Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF) taking over the award in 1992.
Former Mali international Salif Keïta was the very first recipient in 1970, earned while he was playing for Saint-Étienne in France.
As a teenager he was in the Stade Malien side that lost in the first CAF Champions Cup final in 1965 and thereafter moved to Saint-Étienne, where he won three successive Ligue 1 titles from 1968-70 and became a fan favourite in a golden period for one of France’s most beloved clubs.
He scored 42 goals alone in the 1970-71 season when St Etienne finished second to Marseille, where he moved in 1972.
Ibrahim Sunday (Ghana & Asante Kotoko) claimed the award in 1971 and Chérif Souleymane (Guinea & Hafia) the following year.
The France Football Award continued until 1994, by which time CAF has created their own prize two years earlier.
Abedi Pele of Ghana claimed the Award three years in a row between 1991-1993, and future Liberia President George Weah was a winner in 1995 as he also became the first player from Africa to lift the Ballon d’Or.
The record for the most Men’s Player of the Year titles is shared between ex-Cameroon international Samuel Eto’o (2003, 2004, 2005, 2010) and former Cote d’Ivoire midfielder Yaya Toure (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014). Toure is the only player to lift the award four years in a row.
Among current players, Egypt’s Mohamed Salah has two wins and Senegal forward Sadio Mane also a brace of victories.
PAST CAF AWARD WINNERS
Men’s Player of the Year
- 1992 Abedi Pele (Ghana)
- 1993 Rashidi Yekini (Nigeria)
- 1994 Emmanuel Amunike (Nigeria)
- 1995 George Weah (Liberia)
- 1996 Nwankwo Kanu (Nigeria)
- 1997 Victor Ikpeba (Nigeria)
- 1998 Mustapha Hadji (Morocco)
- 1999 Nwankwo Kanu (Nigeria)
- 2000 Patrick Mboma (Cameroon)
- 2001 El Hadji Diouf (Senegal)
- 2002 El Hadji Diouf (Senegal)
- 2003 Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon)
- 2004 Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon)
- 2005 Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon)
- 2006 Didier Drogba (Cote d’Ivoire)
- 2007 Frédéric Kanouté (Mali)
- 2008 Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo)
- 2009 Didier Drogba (Cote d’Ivoire)
- 2010 Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon)
- 2011 Yaya Touré (Côte d’Ivoire)
- 2012 Yaya Touré (Côte d’Ivoire)
- 2013 Yaya Touré (Côte d’Ivoire)
- 2014 Yaya Touré (Côte d’Ivoire)
- 2015 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon)
- 2016 Riyad Mahrez (Algeria)
- 2017 Mohamed Salah (Egypt)
- 2018 Mohamed Salah (Egypt)
- 2019 Sadio Mané (Senegal)
- 2020 Awards not held due to COVID-192021 Awards not held due to COVID-19
- 2022 Sadio Mané (Senegal)
- 2023 Victor Osimhen (Nigeria)
- -CAF
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Several Moroccan stars are nominated for multiple categories in Africa’s equivalent of the Ballon d’Or, covering achievements from January to October 2024.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has commented on its choice of Marrakech as the host city for its prestigious 2024 CAF Awards ceremony, acknowledging the nation’s significant contribution to African football.
“With Morocco’s rich footballing history and vibrant culture, Marrakech is the perfect backdrop for this prestigious celebration that is a must-watch event for fans around the world,” CAF stated in its official announcement on December 10.
The event is scheduled for December 16, at the Palais des Congrès, beginning at 7 p.m. local time.
The ceremony will honor outstanding achievements across multiple categories in both men’s and women’s football, with several Moroccan talents among the nominees:
Men’s Categories:
– Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain) – Player of the Year nominee
– Munir El Kajoui (RS Berkane) – Goalkeeper of the Year nominee
– Bilal El Khannouss (Leicester City) – Young Player of the Year nominee
– Eliesse Ben Seghir (AS Monaco) – Young Player of the Year nominee
Women’s Categories:
– Sanaâ Mssoudy (AS FAR) – Player of the Year nominee
– Fatima El Jebraoui (Wydad Athletic Club) – Goalkeeper of the Year nominee
– Khadija Er-Rmichi (AS FAR) – Goalkeeper of the Year nominee
– Doha El Madani (AS FAR) – Interclub Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year nominee
– Lina Mokhtar Jamai (Paris Saint-Germain) – Young Player of the Year nominee
Additionally, Moroccan clubs and coaches received nominations:
– RS Berkane – Club of the Year (Men)
– AS FAR – Club of the Year (Women)
– Mohamed Amine Alioua (AS FAR) – Coach of the Year (Women)
The event will showcase Africa’s top football talent, with winners selected by a panel including the CAF Technical Committee, media professionals, and head coaches and captains from member associations. The awards cover achievements from January to October 2024.
The ceremony will feature entertainment and bring together football stakeholders from across the continent and beyond, including legendary players and current stars, in a city known for hosting major continental events.
-Morocco World News
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