Nigeria Content Online

The Assistant Coach
of the Super Falcons, Ann Chiejine, has tipped Perpetua Nkwocha to
emerge as the Glo-CAF Women Player of the Year.

The ceremony comes
up on Monday in Cairo, Egypt, and Nkwocha will be up against the duo of
Stella Mbachu and Ebere Orji. Chiejine, however, feels Nkwocha stands a
better chance of claiming the coveted crown ahead of her compatriots
owing to her superb displays at this year’s African Women’s
Championship in South Africa.

Although Mbachu
carted home the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award, Nkwocha
finished as the top scorer. And Chiejine, who was for well over a
decade the Super Falcons’ number one goalkeeper, believes finishing as
the championship’s top scorer gives Nkwocha an edge over Mbachu and
Orji, who was one of the stars at this year’s FIFA U-20 Women’s World
Cup in Germany. “Nkwocha was the highest scorer at the tournament that
gave Nigeria an unprecedented 6th Women Nations Cup title; and besides,
she really played very well and motivated the team,” said Chiejine, who
was voted best Women Football Player in 1998, a year she kept a clean
slate at the tournament hosted by Nigeria.

Nigeria is best

Chiejine also
expressed delight that the three shortlisted nominees are Nigerians.
“It is proof that we are truly the best country in African women
football,” she said. “It is confirmation that Nigeria is far ahead of
the rest in women football.” She also predicted that Nigeria will
clinch the award for the Best National Women Football Team category
where they will be up against Nigeria’s U-20 women’s team, the
Falconets and former African champions, Equatorial Guinea, a side she
dismissed as, “just listed to make up the numbers”. “We are far better
than them,” she said. Nkwocha won the African award back in 2004 and
2005, while Cynthia Uwak was the last Nigerian to claim the award in
2007, a follow-up to her 2006 win. South Africa’s Alice Matlou won the
2008 edition while the award was not presented in 2009 as there was no
continental competition.

Gyan confident

Meanwhile, Ghana
International, Asamoah Gyan, is confident that his country will once
again produce another African Player of the Year, 18 years after Abedi
Pele Ayew’s feat. Gyan, who plays for English side Sunderland, said his
nomination for the Glo-CAF African Footballer of the Year award will
compensate Ghanaians who have agonized over the inability of Michael
Essien to clinch the coveted title after five successive nominations
between 2005 and 2009. “I am grateful to God for the nomination,” Gyan
told BBC Radio. “I also believe I have done enough to win.”

The Ghanaian international, who joined Sunderland from Rennes of
France, described his nomination as befitting reward for his
contributions to country and club. “It shows that there is reward for
consistency and dedication,” he said. “I was very outstanding at the
Nations Cup in Angola, did well at the World Cup in South Africa and
here at Sunderland, I could not have had a better start at a new club.
All these have combined to put in me a strong position to win the
African Player of the Year.”