Nigerian football stars Rasheedat Ajibade and Chiamaka Nnadozie have been nominated for top honors at the 2025 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Awards, as the continent gears up to celebrate its best players, coaches, and teams of the year. The nominations, announced by CAF on Friday, highlight Nigeria\u2019s strong representation across multiple categories following an impressive year for the Super Falcons on the international stage.
Ajibade, who plays for Atl\u00e9tico Madrid Femenino, was shortlisted for the prestigious African Women\u2019s Player of the Year award after a remarkable season for both club and country. The winger\u2019s consistent performance, leadership, and goal-scoring ability for the Super Falcons earned her widespread praise during the 2024 Women\u2019s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) qualifiers and international friendlies.
Chiamaka Nnadozie, the dynamic Paris FC goalkeeper, also made the shortlist for her outstanding contributions in goal for Nigeria. Her heroics in penalty saves and commanding presence between the posts have established her as one of Africa\u2019s top female goalkeepers. Nnadozie, who captained the Super Falcons during their recent campaigns, has been credited with helping Nigeria maintain its dominance in women\u2019s football on the continent.
The Super Falcons, Africa\u2019s most successful women\u2019s national team, were also nominated for the Women\u2019s National Team of the Year category. The nomination recognizes their resilience and teamwork, especially following their strong showing at the 2023 FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup, where they reached the round of 16 and earned global admiration for their spirited performances against higher-ranked teams.
On the men\u2019s side, Nigeria also featured prominently, with Super Eagles players and officials earning recognition. Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, who won the 2023 African Player of the Year award, made the list again after another prolific season in Italy\u2019s Serie A. His inclusion fuels anticipation over whether he can retain the title amid stiff competition from Morocco\u2019s Achraf Hakimi, Senegal\u2019s Sadio Man\u00e9, and Egypt\u2019s Mohamed Salah.
CAF also recognized Nigerian women\u2019s football coach Randy Waldrum in the Women\u2019s Coach of the Year category, following his tactical ingenuity and leadership in guiding the Super Falcons through a transitional phase. Waldrum\u2019s inclusion, observers say, underscores CAF\u2019s acknowledgment of Nigeria\u2019s continued impact on the women\u2019s game across Africa.
The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) expressed pride over the multiple nominations, describing them as a testament to the nation\u2019s enduring football legacy. NFF President Ibrahim Gusau lauded the players and coaches for their hard work and resilience, stating that their recognition \u201creflects the excellence and passion that define Nigerian football.\u201d
Football analysts have also applauded the growing influence of Nigerian women\u2019s football globally. They noted that Ajibade and Nnadozie\u2019s nominations represent not only personal milestones but also the progress made by African female athletes in earning recognition on international platforms traditionally dominated by men.
The CAF Awards, scheduled to take place in Marrakech, Morocco, later this year, will honor outstanding achievements across African football, including men\u2019s and women\u2019s categories, inter-club competitions, and youth development. The ceremony is expected to draw some of the biggest names in African and world football, celebrating a year of remarkable talent and success stories.
As excitement builds ahead of the event, Nigerian fans have taken to social media to rally support for their favorites, expressing hope that the country will once again make history on the continental stage. With Ajibade, Nnadozie, and the Super Falcons leading the charge, Nigeria\u2019s football community is optimistic about another memorable night at Africa\u2019s most prestigious football awards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Nigerian football stars Rasheedat Ajibade and Chiamaka Nnadozie have been nominated for top honors at the 2025 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Awards, as the continent gears up to celebrate its best players, coaches, and teams of the year. The nominations, announced by CAF on Friday, highlight Nigeria\u2019s strong representation across multiple categories following an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21382,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5,3,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-international","category-naija-news","category-sports"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot_20251019-091919.jpg?fit=578%2C403&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21357"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21357\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21358,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21357\/revisions\/21358"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}