CAF Awards 2026: Ait El Haj in Player of the Year race

Moroccan players and the women’s national team appear in four categories of the CAF Awards 2026, following the nomination lists released by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) ahead of the ceremony set for Lagos, Nigeria, on Monday, December 7.

Defender Hanane Ait El Haj, vice-captain of the Atlas Lionesses and currently with Spanish club Deportivo Alavés, is the only Moroccan shortlisted for Player of the Year, an award widely known as the African women’s Ballon d’Or. The title is held by Atlas Lionesses captain Ghizlane Chebbak.

Nine rivals stand between Ait El Haj and the trophy. They include Zambia’s Barbra Banda and Malawi’s Temwa Chawinga, who rank 18th and 10th in this year’s global Ballon d’Or standings, as well as Cameroon’s rising talent Michaely Bihina. Algeria’s Marine Dafour, Cameroon’s Mary Ngah Manga and Monique Ngouck, Ghana’s Portia Boakye, Malawi’s Tabitha Chawinga and South Africa’s Thembi Kgatlana round out the list.

The national side, which finished fourth at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2026 and qualified for the Brazil 2027 World Cup, is also in contention for National Team of the Year. It faces Algeria, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria and South Africa.

FC Barcelona’s Kautar Azraf is nominated for Young Player of the Year. Khadija Er-Rmichi, goalkeeper for AS FAR and the national team, is shortlisted for Goalkeeper of the Year.

CAF is expected to publish the remaining shortlists, including Club of the Year, Interclub Player of the Year and Coach of the Year, once the 2026 CAF Women’s Champions League, under way in Ismailia, Egypt, comes to a close.