Oshoala, Nnadozie make CAF Awards final shortlist

Super Falcons duo Asisat Oshoala and Chiamaka Nnadozie have been named in the final shortlist for the CAF Player of the Year award in the women’s category.

Oshoala, the first African woman footballer to win the UEFA Champions League, aims to win her sixth award while Nnadozie hopes to make the podium for the first time.

The duo have been outstanding for both club and country in the year under review but face stiff competition from Moroccan trio Anissa Lahmari, Fatima Tagnaout and Ghizlaine Chebbak

Andile Dlamini, Thembi Kgatlana and Hilda Magaia from South Africa and Cameroon’s Ajara Njoya and Barbara Banda from Zambia complete the top 10 list of players vying for the award

CAF also announced nominees for other categories namely Interclub Player of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year, Young Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, National Team of the Year and Club of the Year.

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For the Goalkeeper of the Year Nnadozie is up against Dlamini, Imane Abdelahad, Khadija Er-Rmichi and Kaylin Swart while Falcons duo Deborah Abiodun and Esther Ajakaye will battle Comfort Yeboah, Nesryne El Chad and Thubelihle Shamase for the Young Player of the Year award.

Out of contract Falcons coach, Randy Waldrum, will jostle with Mehdi El Qaichouri, Reynald Pedros, Desiree Ellis, Jerry Tshabalala for the Coach of the Year award in the women’s category.

Waldrum led the Falcons to a Round of 16 finish at the Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia. The Nigerian women’s national team is also listed for the National Team of the Year award alongside Morocco, Senegal, South Africa and Zambia.

The ultimate winner of each category will be decided after votes from a voting panel consisting of CAF Technical Committee, media professionals, national team coaches and captains from member associations and clubs involved in the group stages of the Interclub competitions.

The Awards Gala will hold on December 11 at the Palais des Congrès, Movenpick, Marrakech, Morocco.

Oshoala, Nnadozie make CAF Awards final shortlist

We’ll keep flushing out bad eggs in our domestic league – NRA

SANNI Zubair, President, Nigeria Referees Association (NRA) on Monday reiterated the body’s commitment to ensure that referees performing below par were flushed out of the country’s domestic leagues.

Zubair said this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos against the backdrop of incessant cases of poor officiating by match officials.

NAN reports that the 2023/2024 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) season is 10 weeks old but with deafening complaints over poor officiating.

The beautiful game of football is constantly threatened by bad officiating week in week out. No week passes without disagreements over referees’ decisions.

“Aside from the players, a referee has the utmost power to make or mar a match; we have put in place several measures to stand as deterrent.

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“We don’t care who the god-father is, once the fact has been established that a referee has erred deliberately, such a person will face the full wrath of the law guiding principles of officiating.

“Our recent decision to punish some match officials shows that we’re not playing; we will do what we can to ensure that we flush out bad referees and make players have confidence in officiating 100 per cent,” he said.

NAN reports that on Nov. 6, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) suspended 14 referees in the ongoing NPFL season over poor officiating.

The following referees were suspended – Bawa Buhari, Chukwuka Jahlove, Akinwale Tomiwa, Saeed Abdulaziz, Jimmy Aimugbonrie, Brown Ebenezer, Atuwho Morrison, Imamu Maliki, Sunday Azi and the four match officials involved in a Matchday Six fixture between Sunshine Stars and Abia Warriors

Furthermore the e video clips of the Matchday five encounter between Gombe United and Plateau United as well as week seven fixture between Bendel Insurance and Remo Stars In Benin where a potential goal of the season scored by a Remo Stars player was controversially disallowed, were viewed.

We’ll keep flushing out bad eggs in our domestic league – NRA

(NAN)

Ramos gets sent off in Sevilla’s loss to Real Sociedad

SERGIO Ramos was sent off for the 29th time in his career as Sevilla lost 2-1 at Real Sociedad.

The ex-Real Madrid and Spain defender was dismissed for a sliding tackle on Brais Mendez in the 88th minute.

Sunday’s dismissal extends the 37-year-old’s record for the most red cards in La Liga history to 21.

Sevilla winger Jesus Navas, 38, was sent off in a La Liga game for the first time in his career for protesting against the decision.

Ramos has been sent off more times in the 21st century than any other player, ahead of Rafael Marquez (21) and Felipe Melo (20).

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He was booked on 82 minutes and sent off six minutes later after being given a second yellow card, which the referee changed to a straight red after viewing his pitchside monitor.

Real Sociedad took the lead through an early own goal by Sevilla goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic, before Umar Sadiq fired in a superb effort from 25 yards.

Youssef En-Nesyri pulled one back through a deflected header and the Morocco forward almost equalised when he thumped a shot against a post.

Ramos was then shown his first red card since rejoining his hometown club in the summer.

Sevilla are now seven league games without a win, and have slipped to 15th in the table while the hosts climbed to fifth.

Ramos gets sent off in Sevilla’s loss to Real Sociedad

Source: BBC Sport