Esther Okoronkwo Overlooked As Ajibade Tops CAF Women’s Player Shortlist

There is disappointment in Nigeria’s women’s football ranks after Esther Okoronkwo was excluded from the final three for the 2025 CAF Women’s Player of the Year award. CAF announced the shortlist on 14 November 2025, naming Rasheedat Ajibade (Nigeria) and Morocco’s Ghizlaine Chebbak and Sanaa Mssoudy as the three finalists.

Okoronkwo had been part of the earlier 10-player longlist. Her exclusion from the final nomination has sparked debate in Nigerian football circles.

Her performance at the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) was noteworthy she scored two goals, provided four assists, and was named Player of the Match in the final. But despite that, CAF preferred Ajibade — who was also outstanding, having been voted Woman of the Match in three of Nigeria’s six games and winning the tournament’s Best Player accolade.

Okoronkwo’s omission has raised questions about CAF’s selection criteria, with analysts and fans arguing that her creative impact and clutch performances deserved a place among the top three.

Meanwhile, in the Goalkeeper of the Year category, Chiamaka Nnadozie has made the final shortlist, alongside Morocco’s Khadija Er-Rmichi and South Africa’s Andile Dlamini. The 2025 CAF Awards ceremony is scheduled for 19 November in Rabat, Morocco, where the winners will be announced.

Editorial 

When a player like Esther Okoronkwo is left off CAF’s final shortlist, it is not merely an oversight — it is a question about identity, recognition, and the very value of performance. At the heart of this controversy lies a tension between brilliance and bureaucracy.

Okoronkwo’s WAFCON campaign was no cameo; it was a symphony of creativity and execution. Two goals, four assists, and a Player of the Match nod in the final — these are not the metrics of a footnote, but of a performer who matters when the stakes are highest. Yet CAF’s decision suggests that, in the grand calculus, other attributes carried more weight.

Rasheedat Ajibade, of course, is no simple consolation. Her tournament was exemplary three Woman of the Match awards, the overall Best Player distinction, the leadership and the moments. But to juxtapose her success with Okoronkwo’s omission raises thorny questions what kind of magic does CAF reward? Is it the crowning of a single star, or the celebration of all who shaped the tournament?

In the wider frame, Okoronkwo’s exclusion doesn’t just sting her personally it resonates across Nigerian football. It is emblematic of a longstanding challenge how to reconcile flair and substance, how to ensure that structures — not just personalities — are validated and elevated.

If CAF wants this award to mean more than a photo op, more than a line in its history books, then it must reckon with these tensions. Because football, especially African women’s football, thrives not simply on final goals, but on the subtleties that lead to them. And if its most creative players are being sidelined, then the institution risks dimming the very brilliance it claims to honour.

Did You Know?

1. Nomination Process The final three nominees for the CAF awards are selected by a technical panel made up of former players, coaches, media representatives, and development committee members.
2. Ajibade’s WAFCON Heroics In the 2024 WAFCON, Rasheedat Ajibade was named Woman of the Match in three separate games, underlining her influence throughout the tournament.
3. Okoronkwo’s Finals Performance: In the WAFCON final, Okoronkwo scored and assisted — and was named Player of the Match.
4. Nnadozie’s Nomination Streak: Chiamaka Nnadozie is in line for her third consecutive CAF Goalkeeper of the Year nomination.
5. CAF Awards Date &amp Venue The 2025 CAF Awards will be held on 19 November 2025 in Rabat, Morocco.