CAF Awards 2026: Nigeria misses Women’s POTY nomination for first time in history

​In an unprecedented turn of events, Nigeria has been left without a nominee for the CAF Women’s Player of the Year award for the first time since the inaugural prize in 1999, ending a 14-victory streak.

According to an report by ESPN, the 10-player shortlist features three members of Cameroon’s WAFCON-winning squad alongside Malawi’s Chawinga sisters following the Super Falcons’ quarterfinal WAFCON exit and failure to qualify for the 2027 Women’s World Cup.​

Meanwhile, global football faces political fallout as FIFA President Gianni Infantino could face congressional subpoenas over his ties to U.S. President Donald Trump following midterm election results.

House Judiciary Committee Democrats previously criticized FIFA’s cooperation as “woefully inadequate” regarding investigations into financial links to the Trump family and a withdrawn World Cup commercial sell-off plan involving Thrive Capital.

Infantino later announced the proposal was withdrawn on Aug. 1, though UEFA declared it had “lost confidence” in his leadership ahead of the upcoming FIFA presidential candidacy deadline.