Rohr, Oshoala, Eagles listed for AITEO CAF Awards

Coach Gernot Rohr, Asisat Oshoala, the Super Eagles and Nigeria’s U-20 women’s team are up for awards at AITEO CAF Awards 2017 scheduled for next January.

According to the shortlists released on Monday, Nigeria technical adviser Rohr is among those in the running for the Coach of the Year award.

He will be competing with Hugo Broos, the Belgian who led Cameroon to the Africa Cup of Nations title early this year and Hector Cuper, coach of the Egyptian national team. Cuper earned a World Cup ticket with the Pharaohs, which is their first in 28 years.

Others are L’Hussein Amoutta, coach of Wydad Athletic Club, winners of this year’s CAF Champions League and Mihayo Kazembe, who guided TP Mazembe to their second consecutive Confederation Cup title just last Saturday.

Winner of the Women’s Player of the Year award in 2016, Asisat Oshoala, is up against Chrestina Kgatlana of South Africa, Gabrielle Aboudi Onguene of Cameroon, Rutendo Makore of Zimbabwe and Tabitha Chawinga of Malawi.

In the National Team of the Year category, Nigeria are up against Cameroon, Egypt, the Mali U-17 team and the Zambia U-20 team.

Nigeria bagged a ticket to the 2018 FIFA World Cup without losing a match in the group stages of the qualifiers while Cameroon won their first African title for the first time in 15 years, nine months ago.

The Nigerian U-20 women’s team will square up to Ghana’s U-20 team, the Kenyan women’s team, the South African women’s team and the Zimbabwean women’s team for the Women’s National Team of the Year award.

For the Referee of the Year award, The Gambia’s Papa Bakary Gassama, leads the pack. Gassama has won the award in the last three years. Others in the category are Bamlak Tessema (Ethiopia); Ghead Grisha (Egypt); Janny Sikazwe (Zambia); Malang Diedhiou (Senegal) and Mehdi Abid Charef (Algeria).

Eric Ayiah (Ghana); Krepin Diatta (Senegal); Luther Singh (South Africa); Patson Daka (Zambia) and Salam Giddou (Mali) are the contenders for the Youth Player of the Year award.

In the Club of the Year category are Al-Ahly of Egypt, Mbabane Swallows, SuperSport United,  both from South Africa, and Wydad Athletic Club of Morocco.

List of nominees for the African Footballer of Year award has earlier been released. The AITEO CAF Awards 2017 will take place in Accra, Ghana, on January 4, 2018.