South Africa will be well represented at the CAF Women’s Awards for 2025 after a number of Mzansi players, teams, and a coach were nominated in various categories.
CAF announced the nominees to celebrate excellence in African women’s football over the past 12 months. The CAF Awards ceremony will honour players, coaches and teams that have made a significant impact for the period under consideration of January 6 to October 15 this year.
Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeepers Andile Dlamini, Sedilame Boseja, defender Bambanani Mbane and Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis were nominated in different classifications.
Dlamini and Boseja are in the Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year category. They will face stiff competition from eight other goalkeepers, including Nigeria’s two-time winner Chiamaka Nnadozie, who plays for Brighton & Hove Albion. Nnadozie will be aiming to retain her title.
For the Women’s Interclub Player of the Year, Morocco’s AS FAR, South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns, and Cote d’Ivoire’s ASEC Mimosas are noted for their performances, while Botswana’s Gaborone United exemplifies the rise of women’s football in Southern Africa. Sundowns’ Bambanani Mbane is among Africa’s elite in the nominees list.
Coach/Club of the Year
Lamia Boumehdi from Morocco, who won last year’s title with TP Mazembe, will defend her Women’s Coach of the Year, title against South Africa’s Desiree Ellis, a multiple winner. Emerging talents such as Zambia’s Carol Kanyemba and Ivorian Adelaide Koudougnon (Ivory Coast U-17), both of whom have led their teams to qualify for the U-17 Women’s World Cup. Nigeria’s Bankole Olowookere will also be in the running with his U-17 team.
In the category that honours the teams that have excelled on both continental and global stages, Banyana are selected for the Women’s National Team of the Year.
Sundowns are vying for the Women’s Club of the Year gong and they will be slugging it out with 10 other teams such as ASEC Mimosas (Ivory Coast), TP Mazembe (DR Congo), 15 de Agosto (Equatorial Guinea), USFAS Bamako (Mali) and AS FAR from Morocco.
A panel of experts made up of CAF technical and development committee members, experienced coaches, CAF Legends and selected media representatives decided on 10 nominees for each category considering the performance in all competitions.
