Harambee Stars Now On the African Map as Cameroon Hosting Rights Remain in Limbo

The exploits of National team Harambee Stars in the past few months under the guidance of coach Sebastian Migne seem to be finally bearing fruits. This comes after the National team was nominated by Confederation for African Football (CAF) for the Team of the Year Award.

Harambee Stars, who are on the brink of qualifying for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations, have been nominated in the category alongside Guinea Bissau, Madagascar, Mauritania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

They top group “F” on seven points after four matches. Sebastien Migne’s charges were to host Sierra Leone in round five of the qualifiers but the fixture was cancelled by the Confederation of Africa Football (Caf) due to the West African nation’s suspension by Fifa.

As a result, Stars, who needed a win to proceed, could earn a direct ticket should the situation down in Freetown fail to be resolved by the end of the qualifiers in March.

Thirty-four (34) players and 15 women players have been nominated for the flagship awards; Player of the Year and Women’s Player of the Year based on the performance of the players during the year.

The winners for the African Player of the Year and Women’s Player of the Year will be decided by the following:
1. CAF Technical & Development Committee
2. Media Experts, Legends, Coaches of the quarter-finalists of the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup
3. Coaches and Captains of the national teams of the 54 Member Associations.


Other categories namely Youth Player of the Year, Men’s Coach of the Year, Women’s Coach of the Year, Men’s National Team of the Year and Women’s National Team of the Year will be elected by:
1. CAF Technical & Development Committee
2. Media Experts, Legends, Coaches of the quarter-finalists of the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup

The Awards Gala, to honour footballers and officials who distinguished themselves during the year under review, will be held on Tuesday, 8 January 2019 in Dakar, Senegal.

Africa will also know whether Cameroon will remain the hosts. They could lose the rights to stage the 24-nation contests if Caf is not convinced they have made enough progress in preparing for the event.

 

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