CAF Awards 2024: Nigeria trio makes top-10 Women’s Best Coach of the Year prize

By: Monsurah Olatunji

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has revealed the list of nominees for the coveted Best Women’s Coach Award at the 2024 CAF Awards.

As the highly anticipated ceremony draws near, the nominations reflect the impressive contributions of emerging African women’s football coaches who have made their mark at both the club and national levels from January to October 2024.

Among the nominees are notable Nigerian coaches: Bankole Olowookere (Nigeria U-17), Chris Danjuma (Nigeria U-20), and Moses Adukwu (Edo Queens FC), each recognized for their outstanding coaching performances throughout the year.

Chris Danjuma, who led the Nigeria U-20 women’s national team (Falconets) to the Round of 16 at the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Colombia, is among the nominees.

Under his guidance, the Falconets secured a 1-0 victory over South Korea in their opening match but later lost 3-1 to Germany. They went on to thrash Venezuela 4-0, earning a spot in the Round of 16, where they narrowly lost to Japan 2-1.

Meanwhile, Bankole Olowookere steered the Nigeria U-17 women’s team to a remarkable group-stage run at the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in the Dominican Republic. His team won their opening game 4-1 against New Zealand, followed by a 4-0 victory over Ecuador and a 1-0 win over the hosts.

However, they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by the USA, falling 2-0. Although they did not repeat their bronze medal finish from the 2022 U-17 Women’s World Cup, Olowookere’s efforts earned praise.

Moses Adukwu, the head coach of Edo Queens FC, also earned a spot on the shortlist after leading the club to triumph in the Nigeria Women’s Football League (NWFL) title.

Adukwu also guided Edo Queens to the top spot in the WAFU B Women’s Championship in Abidjan, securing their qualification for the CAF Women’s Champions League for the first time, where they will represent Nigeria.

Other nominees include Mildred Cheche of Kenya, who led the Kenyan U-17 national team to their first-ever FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup qualification, and Thinasonke Mbuli, who achieved a historic qualification for UWC (University of Western Cape) in the CAF Women’s Champions League.

The winner of the award will be decided by a voting panel, comprising the CAF Technical Committee, media professionals, and coaches and captains of Member Associations, as well as clubs participating in the group stages of CAF Interclub competitions.

The winner will be announced at the prestigious award gala on 16 December 2024 in Marrakech, Morocco.