The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has officially disclosed the nominees for the men’s categories of the CAF Awards 2023, which are set to take place on December 11 in Marrakech, Morocco. According to a statement posted on the CAF website, a panel comprising CAF Technical Experts, African Football Legends, and selected media representatives from various countries collaborated to assemble the initial list. The performance of the nominees during the period spanning from November 2022 to September 2023 determined their inclusion.
In the words of the statement, “Thirty (30) players made the cut for the top prize; CAF African Player of the Year, whilst 20 players have been nominated for the CAF Interclub Player of the Year. Coach of the Year, CAF National Team of the Year, and Club of the Year have ten (10) nominees each, just as CAF Young Player of the Year – for players under the age of 21.” In a notable addition, CAF has introduced the CAF African Goalkeeper of the Year Category (Men and Women) for the first time, with ten players vying for this new award. The ultimate winners in each category will be determined through a voting panel consisting of CAF Technical Committee members, media professionals, head coaches, captains of member associations, and clubs involved in the group stages of the Interclub competitions.
The statement also noted that the nominees for the Women’s categories will be announced in due course. In a throwback to the previous Awards Gala held in July 2022 in Rabat, Morocco, Senegal forward Sadio Mane emerged as the African Player of the Year, while Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala was crowned the CAF African Women’s Player of the Year for a record fifth time.
Below is the full list of nominees, presented in alphabetical order by Member Association:
Player of the Year (Men)
- Ramy Bensebaini (Algeria and Borussia Dortmund)
- Riyad Mahrez (Algeria and Al Ahli)
- Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso and Bayer Leverkusen)
- Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa (Cameroon and SSC Napoli)
- Vincent Aboubacar (Cameroon and Besiktas)
- Ibrahima Sangare (Cote d’Ivoire and Nottingham Forest)
- Seko Fofana (Cote d’Ivoire and Al Nassr)
- Chancel Mbemba (DR Congo and Olympique Marseille)
- Fiston Mayele (DR Congo and Pyramids)
- Mahmoud Abdel Moneim “Kahraba” (Egypt and Ahly)
- Mohamed Abdelmonem (Egypt and Al Ahly)
- Mohamed ElShenawy (Egypt and Al Ahly)
- Mohamed Salah (Egypt and Liverpool)
- Mohammed Kudus (Ghana and West Ham United)
- Thomas Partey (Ghana and Arsenal)
- Serhou Guirassy (Guinea and VfB Stuttgart)
- Yves Bissouma (Mali and Tottenham Hotspur)
- Achraf Hakimi (Morocco and Paris Saint-Germain)
- Azzedine Ounahi (Morocco and Olympique Marseille)
- Hakim Ziyech (Morocco and Galatasaray)
- Sofyan Amrabat (Morocco and Manchester United)
- Yahya Jabrane (Morocco and Wydad Athletic Club)
- Yassine Bounou (Morocco and Al Hilal)
- Youssef En-Nesyri (Morocco and Sevilla)
- Peter Shalulile (Namibia and Mamelodi Sundowns)
- Victor Osimhen (Nigeria and SSC Napoli)
- Sadio Mane (Senegal and Al Nassr)
- Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal and Tottenham Hotspur)
- Percy Tau (South Africa and Al Ahly)
- Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane (Tunisia and Ferencvaros)
Goalkeeper of the Year (Men)
- Mohamed ElShenawy (Egypt and Al Ahly)
- Yassine Bounou (Morocco and Al Hilal)
- Andre Onana (Cameroon and Manchester United)
- Ronwen Williams (South Africa and Mamelodi Sundowns)
- Edouard Mendy (Senegal and Al Ahli)
- Oussama Benbot (Algeria and USM Alger)
- Youssef El Motie (Morocco and Wydad Athletic Club)
- Djigui Diarra (Mali and Young Africans)
- Pape Mamadou Sy (Senegal and Generation Foot)
- Landing Badji (Senegal and AS Pikine)
Interclub Player of the Year (Men)
- Aymen Mahious (Algeria and USM Alger/Yverdon-Sport)
- Oussama Benbot (Algeria and USM Alger)
- Zineddine Belaid (Algeria and USM Alger)
- Fiston Mayele (DR Congo and Young Africans/Pyramids)
- Makabi Lilepo (DR Congo and Al Hilal/Valenciennes)
- Hussein El Shahat (Egypt and Al Ahly)
- Mahmoud Abdel Moneim “Kahraba” (Egypt and Ahly)
- Mohamed Abdelmonem (Egypt and Al Ahly)
- Mohamed ElShenawy (Egypt and Al Ahly)
- Mostafa Fathi (Egypt and Pyramids)
- Djigui Diarra (Mali and Young Africans)
- Yahia Attiyat Allah (Morocco and Wydad Club Athletic)
- Yahya Jabrane (Morocco and Wydad Athletic Club)
- Youssef El Motie (Morocco and Wydad Athletic Club)
- Peter Shalulile (Namibia and Mamelodi Sundowns)
- Percy Tau (South Africa and Al Ahly)
- Ranga Chivaviro (South Africa and Marumo Gallants/Kaizer Chiefs)
- Ronwen Williams (South Africa and Mamelodi Sundowns)
- Ali Maaloul (Tunisia and Al Ahly)
- Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane (Tunisia and Esperance Sportive de Tunis /Ferencvaros)
Young Player of the Year (Men)
- Dango Ouattara (Burkina Faso and Bournemouth)
- Souleymane Alio (Burkina Faso and New Stars)
- Ernest Nuamah (Ghana & Olympique Lyonnais)
- Abdessamad Ezzalzouli (Morocco and Betis)
- Bilal El Khannous (Morocco and Genk)
- Gift Orban (Nigeria and KAA Gent)
- Lamine Camara (Senegal and Generation Foot/Metz)
- Pape Amadou Diallo (Senegal and Generation Foot/Metz)
- Pape Demba Diop (Senegal and Zulte Waregem)
- Amara Diouf (Senegal and Generation Foot)
Coach of the Year (Men)
- Abdelhak Benchikha (USM Alger)
- Marcel Koller (Al Ahly)
- Juan Micha Obiang (Equatorial Guinea)
- Tom Saintfiet (The Gambia)
- Baciro Cande (Guinea Bissau)
- Amir Abdou (Mauritania)
- Walid Regragui (Morocco)
- Chiquinho Conde (Mozambique)
- Aliou Cisse (Senegal)
- Pape Thiaw (Senegal – CHAN)
National Team of the Year (Men)
- Cape Verde
- The Gambia
- Guinea Bissau
- Equatorial Guinea
- Mauritania
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Senegal
- Tanzania
Club of the Year (Men)
- CR Belouizdad (Algeria)
- USM Alger (Algeria)
- ASEC Mimosas (Cote d’Ivoire)
- Al Ahly (Egypt)
- Raja Club Athletic (Morocco)
- Wydad Athletic Club (Morocco)
- Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)
- Marumo Gallants (South Africa)
- Esperance de Tunis (Tunisia)
- Young Africans (Tanzania)
