The African Football Confederation has announced the three players nominated for Africa’s Footballer of the Year award. Dortmund’s Serhou Guirassy is no longer on the shortlist.
On Wednesday, the African Continental Federation will select Africa’s Footballer of the Year in Rabat, Morocco. It is still unclear who will receive the award. However, one thing has been certain since Monday: Serhou Guirassy will not be the winner this year. The Borussia Dortmund striker, who finished second last year, had high hopes after the CAF included him on the ten-player shortlist. However, around 48 hours before the award ceremony, the list was reduced once again to three nominees and now only includes Mohamed Salah (Liverpool FC, Egypt), Achraf Hakimi (PSG, Morocco), and Victor Osimhen (Galatasaray, Nigeria).
While Salah (2017, 2018) and Osimhen (2023) have already been voted Africa’s Footballer of the Year in their careers, it would be the first award of this kind for Champions League winner Hakimi. In each of the past two years, the former Dortmund player, who is currently injured, has finished in third place and is therefore considered a hot candidate – especially since Salah (Premier League) and Osimhen (Turkish Süper Lig) have “only” won national titles.
Two representatives from the Moroccan Football Federation in the running for coach of the year
In the women’s category, the final shortlist includes Morocco’s Ghizlaine Chebbak, who currently plays for Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, her compatriot Sanaa Mssoudy from Moroccan club ASFAR Rabat, and PSG striker Rasheedat Ajibade from Nigeria. Nominated for Africa’s Coach of the Year are Cape Verde national coach Bubista, who led the country to its first World Cup appearance, Morocco’s U-20 World Cup-winning coach Mohamed Ouahbi, and Morocco’s senior national coach Walid Regragui.
CAF has been presenting the award since 1993. Previously, the French newspaper France Football had presented the award, as it had done for Europe’s Footballer of the Year until the mid-2000s. Since then, African professionals under contract with European clubs have been consistently selected, which is why the continental association has also been honoring the best African player under contract on the continent since 2005. This year’s nominees include Fiston Mayele (Congo) and Mohames Chibi (Morocco) from Egyptian Champions League winners Pyramids FC.
