Desiree Ellis & Banyana Banyana Make Cut For 2019 CAF Awards Final Shortlist
Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis and Thembi Kgatlana have been short-listed for the CAF Women’s Coach of the Year and Women Best Player Of the Year award respectively while the South African Women National Team, Banyana Banyana are in the reckoning for the Women National Team Of The Year.
This is after the Confederation of African Football (Caf) released the final shortlists for its 2019 Awards.
The shortlist of top three nominees for each award category was reached following votes from a CAF Technical & Development Committee and a panel of media experts with emphasis on the nominees’ performance during the year under review, 2019.
The three-man shortlist for the 2019 Player of the Year awards includes Algeria’s Manchester City star Riyad Mahrez who joins Liverpool duo Sadio Mane of Senegal and Egypt’s Mohamed Salah.
The women’s shortlist involves Ajara Nchout of Cameroon and Valerenga, Asisat Oshoala of Nigeria and Barcelona and South Africa’s Beijing Phoenix FC star Thembi Kgatlana.
The final phase of voting for the men’s and women’s African Player of the Year, as well as the male and female Coach of the Year, will be selected by Head Coaches/Technical Directors and Captains of senior national teams from CAF Member Associations.
The winners will be announced during the Caf Awards ceremony on 7 January in the Egyptian resort of Hurghada.
Full list of shortlists are as follows (in alphabetical order):
African Player of the Year
Mohamed Salah (Egypt & Liverpool)
Riyad Mahrez (Algeria & Manchester City)
Sadio Mane (Senegal & Liverpool)
African Women’s Player of the Year
Ajara Nchout (Cameroon & Valerenga)
Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria & Barcelona)
Thembi Kgatlana (South Africa & Beijing Phoenix FC)
African Interclubs Player of the Year
Anice Badri (Tunisia & Esperance)
Tarek Hamed (Egypt & Zamalek)
Youcef Belaïli (Algeria & Esperance / Ahli Jeddah)
African Youth Player of the Year
Achraf Hakimi (Morocco & Borussia Dortmund)
Samuel Chukwueze (Nigeria & Villarreal)
Victor Osimhen (Nigeria & Lille)
African Men’s Coach of the Year
Aliou Cisse (Senegal – Senegal)
Djamel Belmadi (Algeria – Algeria)
Moïne Chaâbani (Tunisia – Esperance)
African Women’s Coach of the Year
Alain Djeumfa (Cameroon)
Desiree Ellis (South Africa)
Thomas Dennerby (Nigeria)
African Men’s National Team of the Year
Algeria
Madagascar
Senegal
African Women’s National Team of the Year
Cameroon
Nigeria
South Africa
By Gerald Dandah
