Crested Cranes Duo Ikwaput, Najjemba Nominated In CAF Awards 2022

Crested Cranes duo of Fauzia Najjemba and Fazila Ikwaput have Wednesday earned nominations in the prestigious CAF Awards 2022.

CAF revealed the shortlists on Wednesday with Najjemba and Ikwaput getting nominated in the CAF Young Player of the Year (Women) and CAF African Women Footballer of the year categories respectively.

Ikwaput made a shortlist that has 30 players, becoming the first Ugandan female footballer to earn this nomination.

Last year, Ikwaput guided Lady Doves FC to their first League title where she finished both as the top scorer and MVP.

She would go on to help the club finish third in the inaugural CECAFA Regional Qualifiers with four goals to her name.

Last season, she was a joint top scorer in the FUFA Women Super League with 16 goals same as Hasifah Nassuna of UCU Lady Cardinals.

Ikwaput was influential as Uganda clinched the 2022 CECAFA Senior Women’s Championship, scoring 6 goals and ending as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

Najjemba on the other hand made her name at the 2022 CECAFA U20 Women’s Championship where she finished as top scorer with 12 goals in six games.

At the start of this year, she moved to BIIK Shymkent in Kazakhstan where she has already scored 9 goals and registered 6 assists.