Home / Sports / Nigeria's CAF Award Streak Ends: No Nominees for First Time Since 1999
Nigeria's CAF Award Streak Ends: No Nominees for First Time Since 1999
4 Nov
Summary
- Nigeria has no nominees for CAF Women's Player of the Year, breaking a 25-year streak.
- This omission follows Nigeria's early exit from WAFCON and failure to qualify for the World Cup.
- Cameroon, Malawi, Zambia, and South Africa feature prominently in the award shortlist.
Nigeria's unprecedented absence from the CAF Women's Player of the Year shortlist marks a significant shift in African women's football. The Super Falcons' streak of having at least one nominee since 1999 has been broken, a consequence of their recent performance.
This year's 10-player shortlist notably features three players from Cameroon's Women's Africa Cup of Nations-winning squad and Malawi's Chawinga sisters. Nigeria's omission follows their earliest-ever WAFCON exit, a quarterfinal loss to Cameroon, and a subsequent World Cup qualifying playoff defeat to South Africa.
Past winners like South Africa's Thembi Kgatlana and Zambia's Barbra Banda are included. However, Nigeria's dominance, with players like Asisat Oshoala (six wins) and Perpetua Nkwocha (four wins) previously securing the award, has waned.
Despite the lack of a contender for the main individual award, Nigeria still has nominees in other categories, including Goalkeeper of the Year, Young Player of the Year, and Women's National Team of the Year.
