Ajibade, Okoronkwo nominated for 2025 CAF Women’s Player of the Year Award

Super Falcons stars Rasheedat Ajibade and Esther Okoronkwo have been shortlisted for the 2025 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Women’s Player of the Year award.

The two Nigerian internationals were named among the 10 nominees released by CAF on Friday.

Ajibade, who played a pivotal role in Nigeria’s triumph at the 2025 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), was voted Woman of the Match in three of the Falcons’ six games and also emerged as the tournament’s Best Player.

Okoronkwo also impressed, scoring two goals and providing four assists during the tournament. She was named Woman of the Match in the final after netting a goal and delivering an assist that helped Nigeria clinch their 10th WAFCON title.

Other nominees include Zambia’s Barbara Banda and Racheal Kundananji, Malawi’s Tabitha and Temwa Chawinga, Morocco’s Sanaa Mssoudy and Ghizlane Chebbak, Ghana’s Portia Boakye, and Senegal’s Mame Diop.

Meanwhile, Super Falcons goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie has been nominated for the Goalkeeper of the Year award, having won the title for two consecutive years.

The Super Falcons and Nigeria’s U-17 women’s team, the Flamingos, are both in contention for the Women’s National Team of the Year award.

Moshood Shakirat is nominated for the Women’s Best Young Player prize, while Bankole Olowookere of the Flamingos and Justin Madueke of the Falcons have been shortlisted for the Women’s Coach of the Year category.

The 2025 CAF Awards Gala is scheduled to take place in Marrakech, Morocco, though the exact date of the ceremony has not yet been announced.