Barbra Banda is back on the shortlist she topped two years ago. The Confederation of African Football published its 2026 awards nominations on Tuesday 3 November, and the Copper Queens captain, who plays for Orlando Pride in the United States, is one of ten players in contention for Women's Player of the Year. She won the award in 2024, becoming the first Zambian to do so, as ZamFoot noted in its report of the nominations.
She is joined on CAF's lists by the goalkeeper Hazel Nali, named among ten nominees for Women's Goalkeeper of the Year. CAF's published list gives her club as ZESCO. No other Zambian appears in the women's categories released so far, and Zambia is not among the ten teams shortlisted for Women's National Team of the Year.
The competition
The Player of the Year field, as published by CAF, is Marine Dafeur of Algeria, Marie Ngah Manga, Michaely Bihina and Monique Ngock of Cameroon, Portia Boakye of Ghana, the Malawian sisters Tabitha and Temwa Chawinga, Hanan Ait El Haj of Morocco, Thembi Kgatlana of South Africa and Banda. Bihina, a Benfica goalkeeper, is also on the goalkeepers' list, where Nali's rivals include Chloe N'Gazi of Algeria, Cynthia Konlan of Ghana, Mercy Sikelo of Malawi, Fatoumata Karantao of Mali, Khadija El-Rmichi of Morocco, Christiana Uzoma of Nigeria, Adji Ndiaye of Senegal and Kaylin Swart of South Africa.
CAF Awards 2026
- Women's Player of the Year — Barbra Banda (Zambia, Orlando Pride) among ten nominees
- Women's Goalkeeper of the Year — Hazel Nali (Zambia, ZESCO) among ten nominees
- National Team of the Year — Zambia not shortlisted; Algeria, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa are
- Still to come — Interclub Player, Coach and Club of the Year, after the CAF Women's Champions League in Egypt
- Monday 7 December — ceremony at the Wole Soyinka Centre, Lagos
CAF said the nominations reflect achievements in international and club football over the year, and that performances at the CAF Women's Champions League in Egypt will be weighed before the three club-related shortlists are finalised. It did not set out the voting procedure in its announcement.
For Zambian women's football the two names carry different stories. Banda's nomination follows her 2024 award, the first for a Zambian; Nali's is recognition for a goalkeeper in a sport whose attention usually goes to the forwards. Whether either collects a trophy in Lagos will be decided over the next month; the absence of the Copper Queens from the team shortlist is a reminder of a year in which the individual stars outshone the collective results.
Sources: CAF, “Africa's leading women footballers feature prominently among CAF Awards 2026 nominees” (3 Nov 2026); ZamFoot, “Barbra Banda, Hazel Nali nominated for 2026 CAF Awards” (3 Nov 2026).