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The Valerenga and Cameroon star is among the frontrunners for the continent’s biggest individual women’s honour
Ajara Nchout feels 2019 has been the best year of her career even if she does not win major silverware for club and country.
The Cameroon international is considered among the leading contenders for the Caf Women’s Player of the Year award, which also has Thembi Kgatlana, Tabitha Chawinga and Asisat Oshoala on the list.
South Africa’s Kgatlana won the prize in 2018, while Oshoala has won three of the last five editions and Chawinga earned a nomination for the accolade on four consecutive occasions.
Nchout’s goals at the Women’s World Cup earned Cameroon back-to-back Round of 16 spots and she was voted the second-best player of the tournament. She was also shortlisted for the Fifa Puskas award in 2019.
Her form earned Valerenga a maiden Women’s Champions League qualification spot with 15 goals but the 26-year-old says getting the 2020 Olympic ticket would make her 2019 perfect.
“The year 2019 is certainly the best year of my career, but for those who followed me for years, they will tell you that I produced the same performance before,” Nchout told Goal.
“Nevertheless, in 2019, I have matured and simplified my game to become more organised. I feel much more pleasure to pass than defend.
“The year 2019 will be even better for me if we qualify for the Tokyo Olympics and if my club Valerenga had won the [Norwegian] Cup. While the Olympic Games qualifying match will be played in January 2020, but for me it is an extension of the year 2019.
“My countrymen and women need a happy moment to alleviate the difficulties of everyday life. When I’m with my Indomitable Lionesses teammates, we consider ourselves as football soldiers.
“We have a duty to bring joy to our people through football. With my club, cutting Norway will be the beautiful icing on the cake after obtaining the first qualification for the Champions League.”
Nchout scored three times to help the Indomitable Lionesses to the final stage of the 2020 Caf Olympic Qualifier and also matched her fine 2018 form, netting 16 goals for her Norwegian side.
When asked what it felt like to become the first African woman to earn a Puskas award nomination, she said: “I thought of the road travelled from the vacant lots of Foumban, Douala and Yaounde.”
“I thought of my debut for Cameroon and the professional club. I thought of my first mentors, their advice, and deep down I thanked them.
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“I also thought that the Puskas award is not an end, but the encouragement to do even more tomorrow, because today I am in the limelight.
“My actions will be more scrutinized than before. It is a responsibility that I have the duty to assume.”
The Awards Gala will be in Cairo on January 7, 2020.
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