The 2024 CAF Awards celebrated on Monday Africa’s football stars and figures in a captivating and festive atmosphere filled with anticipation in Morocco’s Red city Marrakech.
Amid cheers and applause, Nigeria’s Ademola Lookman was named Player of the Year. In the women’s category, Zambian football star Barbra Banda, who plays for Orlando Pride in the United States, received the 2024 Player of the Year award.
Morocco’s football player Doha El Madani claimed the prestigious Young Player of the Year prize. She was the top scorer in the CAF Champions League hosted in Morocco last November.
Senegalese player Lamine Camara was named Best Young Player of the Year in the men’s category.
Nigeria was named Women’s National Team of the Year, while Côte d’Ivoire won Men’s National Team of the Year.
Egypt’s Al Ahly men’s club won the club of the year title, while TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo took the women’s title.
Sanaâ Mssoudy, a 24-year-old Moroccan footballer representing the national team and AS FAR, won the Interclub Player of the Year award. Meanwhile, South Africa’s Ronwen Williams was named Best Interclub Player.
Chiamaka Nnadozie was named Goalkeeper of the Year for women, while Ronwen Williams claimed the men’s title.
Morocco’s Lamia Boumehdi, coach of TP Mazembe in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Emerse Faé, coach of Côte d’Ivoire’s national team, received the Coach of the Year awards.
The Best Goal of the Year award went to Congolese player Gostinho Cristóvão Paciência, widely known as “Mabululu,” following a fan vote.
The ceremony also honored African heads of state for their contributions to the continent’s development, including Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Cameroon’s Paul Biya who claimed the awards of the CAF president’s outstanding achievement awards.
Moroccan police officer and international referee Bouchra Karboubi was honored with the Best Women’s Referee title at the ceremony along with Libya’s Mutaz Ibrahim, who won the men’s award.
