Nesryne El Chad basking in maiden African Youth Award scoop
A standing ovation. Recognition from old, young, men, women and children. Most importantly, a warm hug from her parents. Nesryne El Chad could never have scripted Monday night at the CAF Awards 2023 in Marrakech, Morocco.
The 20-year-old defender, who limped her way to the stage to receive the first ever Africa Youth Player of the Year Award in the women’s category, is reveling in this historic moment that has seen her write her name in the history books.
In more ways than one, this recognition was more than a homecoming. At 20, she has already played for the Morocco U17 Women’s Team, captained the U20s and is now a core member of the senior team and already played at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
“I cannot believe this. I am so proud to have received this prize in front of my parents and in my country. I am so excited to come back home. I am receiving countless messages from my family, friends and teammates. I love all of them. This is surreal,” Nesryne told CAFOnline.com in an emotional interview.
Her mother Nadia Ouazou is blushing as her daughter relishes this historic moment not just for her but for her family, Morocco and the continuous growth of Women’s Football in Africa and the world at large.
“I am thankful to my parents for all their support over the years. They allowed us to play sport and that has led to us achieving our dreams,” she added.
Nesryne and her twin sister Manelle El Chad both started out with tennis, but after six years in the racket sport, Nesryne chose football at 12 and has pursued it since. Their little sister Ines El Chad is into boxing.
“With this trophy, I would like to pay tribute to the people of Marrakech. They have gone through so much. They have seen it all and yet they remain steadfast with so much hope and this for me is enough reason to want to deeply celebrate with them,” Nesryne explained.
Nesryne, who was born in Saint Étienne in France, currently features for Lille in the top flight league in France. In Morocco, her home is in Meknes where her parents hail from – north of Marrakech.
She admitted that representing her country is the greatest honour of her life and that hopes to continue making her nation proud.
“I would like to thank King Mohammed VI for everything that he has done for us. I want to thank everyone that is involved in football in Morocco that has supported us on this journey – the president of the federation Fouzi Lekjaa. We have a lot of infrastructure here than I have seen elsewhere in the world. We have the best here in Morocco. Look at our center in Rabat. World class. This continues to help us to get better and the future is very bright for us as a country,” Nesryne said emphatically.
Nesryne said that along with her teammates, they are excited to build on what Morocco has achieved recently – reaching the final of the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations at home and qualifying to their first ever FIFA Women’s World Cup while also making it out of the group stages at the very first attempt.
They became only the second African team to manage this feat after Cameroon in 2015 in Canada.
“My favourite moment at the World Cup was when we defeated Colombia and then had to wait for the result from the South Korea and Germany game. When it ended in a draw, we knew we had qualified to the Round of 16. Wow! To do this in our first ever World Cup appearance was magical. I will never forget that moment,” Nesryne reminisced with so much joy on her face.
“This is enough motivation for us to keep going strong. We are going to do better. We can do better. We must do better. When you see what players like Asisat Oshoala are doing, you see that we have so much talent in Africa. We have to keep working hard. Congratulations to her and all the winners.”
Morocco will host the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2024.