South African Football Association (Johannesburg)
6 December 2011
Banyana Banyana and Russia-based striker Nompumelelo Nyandeni have both been nominated for the African Football Confederation (CAF) awards scheduled for Ghana on Thursday, 22 December 2011.
The annual ceremony is the continent’s premier awards event which recognises the best achievers in African football for the year.
Banyana Banyana has had a brilliant year and topped it up by qualifying for the 2012 London Olympic Games while striker Nyandeni has been a revelation for the squad.
The South African Senior Women’s National Team has been nominated for the African Women’s National Team of the Year category, while Nyandeni will vie for the African Women’s Footballer of the Year 2011.
“We are pleased to inform you that your national women’s team has been nominated as one of the finalists in the category Women’s National Team of the Year 2011,” read part of the letter from CAF.
The other nominees are Cameroon and Nigeria.
Nyandeni, who played a key role in Banyana’s qualification for the Olympics next year, will battle it out for the biggest prize with Miriam Paixao Silva of Equatorial Guinea and Perpetua Nkwocha of Nigeria.
This year’s event, which will take place in Accra, Ghana, will be televised to a global audience and will be attended by the who’s who of African football.
“Our Women National Team has done exceptionally well this year and the nominations are due recognition for an excellent season. We hope this will spur them to do even better at the Olympic Games in London,” said South African Football Association (SAFA) president, Kirsten Nematandani.
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