The South African Football Association (SAFA) was well represented in the nominations for the 2024 CAF Awards after the continental body announced the candidates on Thursday.
Bafana Bafana captain and goalkeeper Ronwen Williams leads the list after he was nominated in the Player of the Year (Men) category, Goalkeeper of the Year (Men) and Interclub Player of the Year (Men). The inspirational Williams has had an outstanding year for both club and country and has also been nominated for the Yashin Trophy.
On a good day for SAFA and South African football, Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos was nominated in the Coach of the Year (Men) category while the South African senior national team got the nod for National Team of the Year (Men). As if that were not enough, Mamelodi Sundowns were nominated in the Club of the Year (Men) category.
Williams has become a revered shot stopper and an inspiration not just in South Africa, but on the continent. His breathtaking skills between the poles contributed to Bafana Bafana’s bronze medal at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte d’Ivoire in the beginning of the year. He kept five clean sheets in a single AFCON and in the process broke former goalkeeper Andre Arendse’s record. He was also voted as the AFCON Goalkeeper of the Tournament.
Broos has transformed Bafana Bafana since taking over as coach on 5 May 2021. SAFA President Dr Danny Jordaan spearheaded the appointment and has always maintained that it was the best decision for the South African senior national team. Dr Jordaan said all the nominations were well deserved after the enormous amount of hard work that was put in by the nominees over an extended period of time.
“Congratulations to all our nominees, we are proud of this achievement and how far we have come as a footballing nation. This recognition is further proof that our programmes are working, and we are on the right track,” Dr Jordaan said.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced that the 2024 CAF Awards will be hosted in Marrakech, Morocco, on 16 December 2024. CAF also said the list of nominees for the Women’s categories will be announced in due course.
FULL NOMINATION LIST:
Player of the Year (Men)
Amine Gouiri (Algeria / Rennes)
Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso / Bayer Leverkusen)
Simon Adingra (Cote d’Ivoire / Brighton & Hove Albion)
Chancel Mbemba (DR Congo / Olympique Marseille)
Serhou Guirassy (Guinea / Borussia Dortmund)
Achraf Hakimi (Morocco / Paris Saint-Germain)
Soufiane Rahimi (Morocco / Al Ain)
Ademola Lookman (Nigeria / Atalanta)
William Troost Ekong (Nigeria / Al Kholood)
Ronwen Williams (South Africa / Mamelodi Sundowns)
Goalkeeper of the Year (Men)
Oussama Benbot (Algeria / USM Alger)
Andre Onana (Cameroon / Manchester United)
Yahia Fofana (Cote d’Ivoire / Angers SCO)
Lionel Mpasi (DR Congo / Rodez AF)
Mostafa Shobeir (Egypt / Al Ahly)
Djigui Diarra (Mali / Young Africans)
Munir El Kajoui (Morocco / RS Berkane)
Stanley Nwabali (Nigeria / Chippa United)
Ronwen Williams (South Africa / Mamelodi Sundowns)
Amanallah Memmiche (Tunisia / Esperance Sportive de Tunis)
Interclub Player of the Year (Men)
Oussama Benbot (Algeria / USM Alger)
Issoufou Dayo (Burkina Faso / RS Berkane)
Ahmed Sayed ‘Zizo’ (Egypt / Zamalek)
Hussein El Shahat (Egypt / Al Ahly)
Mostafa Shobeir (Egypt / Al Ahly)
Abdul Aziz Issah (Ghana / Dreams FC)
John Antwi (Ghana / Dreams FC)
Amanallah Memmiche (Tunisia / Esperance Sportive de Tunis)
Yassine Merriah (Tunisia / Esperance Sportive de Tunis)
Ronwen Williams (South Africa / Mamelodi Sundowns)
Coach of the Year (Men)
Pedro Goncalves (Angola)
Brahima Traore (Burkina Faso)
Emerse Fae (Cote d’Ivoire)
Sebastien Desabre (DR Congo)
Jose Gomes (Zamalek)
Marcel Koller (Al Ahly)
Chiquinho Conde (Mozambique)
Hugo Broos (South Africa)
Florent Ibenge (Al Hilal)
Kwesi Appiah (Sudan)
Young Player of the Year (Men)
Carlos Baleba (Cameroon / Brighton & Hove Albion)
Karim Konate (Cote d’Ivoire / Salzburg)
Oumar Diakite (Cote d’Ivoire / Reims)
Yankuba Minteh (Gambia / Brighton & Hove Albion)
Abdul Aziz Issah (Ghana / Dreams FC / Barcelona)
Bilal El Khannouss (Morocco / Leicester City)
Eliesse Ben Seghir (Morocco / AS Monaco)
El Hadji Malick Diouf (Senegal / Slavia Prague)
Lamine Camara (Senegal / AS Monaco)
Amanallah Memmiche (Tunisia / Esperance Sportive de Tunis)
Club of the Year (Men)
Petro Atletico (Angola)
TP Mazembe (DR Congo)
Al Ahly (Egypt)
Zamalek (Egypt)
Dreams FC (Ghana)
RS Berkane (Morocco)
Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)
Simba (Tanzania)
Young Africans (Tanzania)
Esperance Sportive de Tunis (Tunisia)
National Team of the Year (Men)
Angola
Burkina Faso
Cote d’Ivoire
DR Congo
Morocco
Mozambique
Nigeria
South Africa
Sudan
Uganda
SOURCED FROM THE SAFA WEBSITE.
