Scorchers get 5 nominations for CAF awards

The Scorchers have been nominated for the 2026 CAF Africa National Team-of-the-Year Award for their fairy-tale exploits at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) in Morocco where they defied the odds to finish as runners-up.

To kick things up a notch, four Scorchers players have been nominated for three different individual awards.

Scorchers’ captain Tabitha (R) and teammates show off their silver medals. | Courtesy of FAM

France-based captain, Tabitha, and her US-based sister, Temwa, will compete for the Africa Woman Footballer-of-the-year Award alongside seven others.

This is the sixth time for Tabitha to be nominated for the prestigious continental award, including four on the trot, while for Temwa it will be the fourth time.

Despite the several awards, the sisters are yet to win the award, but the Scorchers’ skipper strongly believes that Temwa is the odds-on favourite.

The other nominees for the Best Footballer are Zambian duo of Barbara Banda and Rachael Kundananji, Sanaa Mssoudy of Morocco, South Africans Thembi Kgatlana and Jermaine Seoposenwe as well as Rasheedat Ajibade and Esther Okoronkwo of Nigeria.

France-based blossoming midfielder Rose Kadzere is in the running for the Africa Young Female Footballer-of-the-Year accolade while goalkeeper Mercy Sikelo has made the list for the Golden Glove.

In an interview, Tabitha said the nominations are well deserved.

“I thank God for His blessings and He deserves our praise. This was expected considering our performance at Wafcon and as the captain, I am very proud.”

“It is flattering to be nominated once again. But what is more pleasing is that we now have two more players being nominated for the CAF awards in Rose and Mercy which shows that we are making progress.

“Over and above that, we have all been nominated as a team and I believe that with what we achieved at our debut Wafcon, as Scorchers, we stand a good chance of winning the Best National Team Award.

“Everybody saw what we did at Wafcon. When we were heading to Morocco, we were underdogs, but we surprised everyone by defying the odds to go all the way to the final, which was not a mean feat. Of course, we did not win the tournament, but we performed beyond everyone’s expectations.”

She also reiterated that Temwa is an odds-on favourite for the Africa Woman Player-of-the-Year Award.

“Of course, I am one of the nominees, but I believe that Temwa will win it and I stick to that. Her achievements speak for her.”

The awards will be held in Lagos, Nigeria, on December 7.

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