Sport AfricaBriefFootball Checked story Published 3 November 2026 · Updated 3 Nov, 14:15 UTC

CAF Awards 2026 women's shortlists: Banda and the Chawinga sisters lead the Player of the Year ten — and no Nigerian is on it for the first time

CAF unveiled its 2026 women's awards shortlists on Tuesday 3 November 2026, ahead of the ceremony in Lagos on Monday 7 December. The Women's Player of the Year ten is: Marine Dafeur (Algeria), Marie Ngah Manga, Michaely Bihina and Monique Ngock (Cameroon), Portia Boakye (Ghana), Tabitha Chawinga and Temwa Chawinga (Malawi), Hanane Aït El Haj (Morocco), Thembi Kgatlana (South Africa) and Barbra Banda (Zambia). For the first time in the award's history, no Nigerian is on that list, Nigerian outlets report — three-time Goalkeeper of the Year Chiamaka Nnadozie is also absent from the goalkeeper shortlist. Nigeria is not absent from the night altogether: Edo Queens goalkeeper Christiana Uzoma is a Goalkeeper of the Year nominee, Janet Akekoromowei and Oluwakemi Adegbuyi are Young Player nominees, and the Super Falcons are among the ten Women's National Team of the Year nominees.

Verified CAF unveiled the Women's Player of the Year shortlist for the 2026 CAF Awards on Tuesday 3 November 2026: Marine Dafeur (Algeria), Marie Ngah Manga, Michaely Bihina and Monique Ngock (Cameroon), Portia Boakye (Ghana), Tabitha Chawinga and Temwa Chawinga (Malawi), Hanane Aït El Haj (Morocco), Thembi Kgatlana (South Africa) and Barbra Banda (Zambia).

Key points

CAF's Women's Player of the Year shortlist (10): Dafeur (Algeria); Ngah Manga, Bihina, Ngock (Cameroon); Boakye (Ghana); Tabitha and Temwa Chawinga (Malawi); Aït El Haj (Morocco); Kgatlana (South Africa); Banda (Zambia).
No Nigerian is on the Player of the Year list — reported by multiple Nigerian outlets as the first time in the award's history. Reigning Goalkeeper of the Year Chiamaka Nnadozie, a three-time winner, is also not shortlisted.
Nigeria's nominees elsewhere: Christiana Uzoma (Goalkeeper of the Year), Janet Akekoromowei and Oluwakemi Adegbuyi (Young Player of the Year), and the Super Falcons (Women's National Team of the Year).
The winners are announced at the CAF Awards ceremony in Lagos, Nigeria, on Monday 7 December 2026.

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What happened

The shortlists follow the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations, won by Cameroon — the Indomitable Lionesses' first title, beating finalists Malawi 3–0 in the Rabat final on 16 August, per GhanaSoccerNet's account of the nominations. Cameroon supplies three of the ten Player of the Year nominees, including the tournament's best player, Monique Ngock, and its best goalkeeper, Michaely Bihina, who is shortlisted in both the Player and Goalkeeper categories.

Nigeria's Super Falcons, the most successful team in African women's football, went out in the quarter-finals of that tournament, and the shortlists reflect it: the country's presence is in the goalkeeper, young-player and team categories rather than the headline individual prize, which Nigerian players have won a record number of times — Asisat Oshoala alone holds six titles.

Match facts — all verified

✓ VerifiedCAF unveiled the Women's Player of the Year shortlist for the 2026 CAF Awards on Tuesday 3 November 2026: Marine Dafeur (Algeria), Marie Ngah Manga, Michaely Bihina and Monique Ngock (Cameroon), Portia Boakye (Ghana), Tabitha Chawinga and Temwa Chawinga (Malawi), Hanane Aït El Haj (Morocco), Thembi Kgatlana (South Africa) and Barbra Banda (Zambia).GhanaSoccerNet — Cameroon's historic champions dominate CAF Women's Player of the Year shortlist (3 Nov 2026, read in full) · DailySports — CAF Awards 2026: Temwa Chawinga, Barbra Banda and Michaely Bihina among 10 Women's Player of the Year nominees (3 Nov 2026) · Zambian Football — Barbra Banda, Hazel Nali nominated for 2026 CAF Awards (3 Nov 2026)
✓ VerifiedNo Nigerian player is on the Women's Player of the Year shortlist — reported by Nigerian outlets as the first time in the award's history that Nigeria has had no nominee in the category. Three-time Women's Goalkeeper of the Year Chiamaka Nnadozie is likewise absent from the goalkeeper shortlist.SportBlits — CAF Awards 2026: No Nigerian nominated for Women's Player of the Year (3 Nov 2026) · NaijaFooty — Super Falcons shut out of CAF Women's Player award for first time (3 Nov 2026)
✓ VerifiedNigeria does have nominees in the other women's categories: Edo Queens goalkeeper Christiana Uzoma (Women's Goalkeeper of the Year), Seimeyeha Janet Akekoromowei and Oluwakemi Adegbuyi (Women's Young Player of the Year), and the Super Falcons (Women's National Team of the Year, one of ten nominees).Ademola Sports — 2026 CAF Awards: Adegbuyi, Akekoromowei, Uzoma, Super Falcons get nominations (3 Nov 2026) · Zambian Football — Barbra Banda, Hazel Nali nominated for 2026 CAF Awards (3 Nov 2026)
✓ VerifiedThe 2026 CAF Awards ceremony takes place on Monday 7 December 2026 in Lagos, Nigeria — at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts in Iganmu, per the Nigerian reporting.GhanaSoccerNet — Cameroon's historic champions dominate CAF Women's Player of the Year shortlist (3 Nov 2026) · SportBlits — CAF Awards 2026: No Nigerian nominated for Women's Player of the Year (3 Nov 2026)

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West Ham sack Nuno Espírito Santo: head coach leaves with immediate effect after back-to-back home defeats, Mark Noble in temporary charge

West Ham United have sacked head coach Nuno Espírito Santo. In a statement on Tuesday 3 November 2026 the club said the men's first-team head coach 'has left his position with immediate effect' after 'a thorough review of the start to the EFL Championship season', with the board believing 'a change is necessary at this time in order to ensure that the club's objectives and expectations remain on track'. Assistant head coach Rui Pedro Silva and goalkeeper coach Rui Barbosa have also departed, the process of recruiting a new head coach is under way, and Mark Noble, Steve Potts and Gerard Prenderville will take temporary charge of squad preparations ahead of Wednesday evening's EFL Championship fixture at Cardiff City; the club will make no further comment until the appointment of the new head coach is confirmed. West Ham sit eighth in the Championship after 13 games, after back-to-back home defeats — 3–2 by Southampton and 3–1 by West Brom on Saturday. Reports linking former Hammers midfielder Scott Parker with the job are widespread but are not a club announcement, and are carried on this page as Not yet verified.

VerifiedWest Ham United confirmed on Tuesday 3 November 2026 that men's first-team head coach Nuno Espírito Santo has left his position with immediate effect. The club said: 'Following a thorough review of the start to the EFL Championship season, the board of directors believe that a change is necessary at this time in order to ensure that the club's objectives and expectations remain on track.'
VerifiedAssistant head coach Rui Pedro Silva and goalkeeper coach Rui Barbosa have also departed. The process of recruiting a new head coach is already under way; Mark Noble, Steve Potts and Gerard Prenderville will take temporary charge of squad preparations ahead of Wednesday evening's EFL Championship fixture at Cardiff City, and the club will make no further comment until the appointment of the new head coach is confirmed.
VerifiedNuno replaced Graham Potter at the London Stadium in September 2025 on a three-year contract, oversaw West Ham's relegation from the Premier League last season — they finished 18th — and was kept on in May to lead the promotion bid. This season West Ham sit eighth in the Championship after 13 games, with back-to-back home defeats sealing his departure: 3–2 by Southampton and then 3–1 by West Brom on Saturday, a third home defeat in seven, after a run of two wins in seven games that followed a 6–0 win over Wrexham at the start of September.

3 verified· 0 disputed· 1 not yet verified· 0 corrected

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Super Falcons receive their $100,000 WAFCON reward — the Sports Commission confirms Tinubu's pledge is paid, 15 months on

Nigeria's Super Falcons have begun receiving the naira equivalent of the $100,000 each that President Bola Tinubu pledged to them after their record-extending 10th Women's Africa Cup of Nations title in Morocco in July 2025, the National Sports Commission (NSC) confirmed in a statement on Monday 2 November 2026. Members of the technical crew receive the equivalent of $50,000 each. Reports of the NSC statement put the payment at about ₦140 million per player, though some outlets, applying a different exchange rate, put it at about ₦134 million — the settled figure is the dollar pledge itself. The cash completes the reward package announced at a State House reception on 28 July 2025, two days after the Falcons came from 2–0 down to beat hosts Morocco 3–2 in the Rabat final; the package's apartment title documents and national-honour certificates had been received earlier, the reports say. NSC chairman Shehu Dikko said the President 'has honoured his commitment to them in full', and captain Rasheedat Ajibade thanked him for keeping his word.

VerifiedThe National Sports Commission confirmed on Monday 2 November 2026 that the Super Falcons' players have received — and begun receiving — the naira equivalent of President Bola Tinubu's $100,000-per-player reward pledge, with members of the technical crew receiving the equivalent of $50,000 each, completing the cash component of the reward package for the team's 10th WAFCON title.
VerifiedThe pledge was made at a presidential reception for the team at the State House in Abuja on 28 July 2025, two days after the Super Falcons came from 2–0 down to beat hosts Morocco 3–2 in the WAFCON final in Rabat on 26 July 2025, winning a record-extending 10th continental title; the President approved the naira equivalent of $100,000 for each of the 24 players and $50,000 for each member of the technical team.
VerifiedNSC chairman Shehu Dikko said: 'The Super Falcons made Nigeria proud, and Mr President has honoured his commitment to them in full,' adding that some Nigerian sports heroes had endured years of waiting for promised rewards; team captain Rasheedat Ajibade thanked President Tinubu for keeping his word, describing the payment as recognition of the team's achievement.

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Benfica 1–0 Alverca: Pavlidis's penalty settles a night the visitors made the giants work for every inch

SL Benfica beat FC Alverca 1–0 at the Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica in Lisbon on Monday 2 November 2026, in Liga Portugal Matchday 10. After a goalless first half, Vangelis Pavlidis converted a penalty in the 51st minute for the game's only goal. Alverca made the favourites work for it: the visitors matched Benfica's six shots on target, and goalkeeper Samuel Soares made six saves to keep his clean sheet — per the Sportradar Liga Portugal match record, read in full, and Sports Mole's match page.

VerifiedSL Benfica beat FC Alverca 1–0 at the Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica on Monday 2 November 2026 in Liga Portugal Matchday 10 (0–0 at half-time): Vangelis Pavlidis scored the only goal, a penalty, in the 51st minute, and the match ended at 90+5 minutes.
VerifiedAlverca matched Benfica's six shots on target: the team statistics read 61% possession to Benfica and 17 shots to 9 overall, but 6 shots on target each, with Benfica goalkeeper Samuel Soares making six saves and Alverca's Matheus Mendes five.
VerifiedThe breakthrough came six minutes after a half-time change: Claudio Echeverri replaced Andreas Schjelderup at the start of the second half, and Pavlidis's penalty followed in the 51st minute.

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