Orlando Pirates will be well-represented when the 2022 edition of the CAF Awards takes place in July.
The Buccaneers had an eventful 2021/22 season, and were among the top performers on the continent. The highlight of the First Team’s campaign was their impressive CAF Confederation run, which saw them reach the final of the prestigious competition for the second time in history.
As a result of their exploits, the Club is among ten of the biggest names in African football that have been nominated for the Men’s Club of the Year award.
There is some stiff competition in the category, with their Confed Cup final opponents – and eventual winners – RS Berkane among the nominees, alongside CAF Champions League finalists Al Ahly and Wydad Athletic Club.
Some of the key contributions to Pirates’ run in the tournament have not gone unnoticed, with some members of the squad and technical team also up for individual awards.
Mandla Ncikazi, who served as First Team Coach in the recently-concluded season, has been nominated in the Men’s Coach of the Year category. For the prestigious award, he will go toe-to-toe with the likes of countryman Pitso Mosimane, as well as Senegal’s Africa Cup of Nations winning mentor Aliou Cisse, and ex-Egypt head coach Carlos Queiroz.
He is joined in the list of nominees by two of his troops in Bandile Shandu and Thembinkosi Lorch, whose standout performances throughout the Confed Cup earned each player a nod for the Men’s Interclub Player of the Year award.
Shandu was among the competition’s top-scorers, finishing with four goals and an assist, while Lorch was also in tremendous form right through, most memorably netting the late equaliser that sent the final into a penalty shootout.
The winners of the awards across categories will be determined by votes from captains and coaches of the Member Associations, selected journalists, CAF Technical Study Group and CAF Legends.
The event is scheduled to take place on Thursday, 21 July in Morocco.
