The African Football Confederation has unveiled the top 10 for the African Footballer of the Year award. A Bundesliga trio from the original list of nominees is no longer among them
On November 1, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) published a list of 30 nominated players, which it has now shortened to ten professionals. This also means disappointment for Stuttgart’s Serhou Guirassy, Leverkusen’s Edmond Tapsoba and Dortmund’s Ramy Bensebaini: all three Bundesliga professionals were on the original list, but are no longer among the top 10.
Nigerian Victor Osimhen, who was SSC Napoli’s top scorer when they won their first Serie A title in 33 years, is the bookmakers’ favorite. His team-mate Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa (Cameroon) is also on the shortlist. They are joined by Riyad Mahrez (Algeria, Al-Ahli), Vincent Aboubakar (Cameroon, Besiktas Istanbul), Mohamed Salah (Egypt, Liverpool FC), Achraf Hakimi (Morocco, Paris St. Germain), Bono (Morocco, Al-Hilal), Youssef En-Nesyri (Morocco, Sevilla FC) and Sadio Mané (Senegal, Al-Nassr), who played for FC Bayern until the summer.
Bono nominated twice
Bono can also hope for a second award. The keeper, who helped Sevilla win the Europa League title with two penalty saves in the final against AS Roma before moving to Saudi Arabia, is one of five professionals nominated for the inaugural “African Goalkeeper of the Year” award. He is joined by Mohamed El Shenawy (Egypt, Al Ahly), André Onana (Cameroon, Manchester United), Ronwen Williams (South Africa, Mamelodi Sundowns) and Edouard Mendy (Senegal, Al-Ahli).
The winner will be chosen by a vote of CAF Committee members, journalists, coaches and captains of national and club teams. The prizes will then be awarded on December 11 in Marrakesh. Mané won the last two awards in 2022 and 2019. The award was not presented in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The record winners are Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon) and Yaya Touré (Côte d’Ivoire) with four titles each.
