Nigerian football star Victor Osimhen is one of the 30 nominees revealed on Wednesday for the 2022-2023 Men’s African Player of the Year award.
The prolific Napoli forward topped the scoring charts in Serie A last season with 26 goals, and he was also the leading scorer in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying, netting 10 goals, which included a remarkable four goals in a single match.
Players from the Moroccan squad that achieved a historic milestone in Qatar last December, becoming the first African team to reach the World Cup semi-finals, are also in contention.
These individuals comprise goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, defender Achraf Hakimi, midfielder Sofyan Amrabat, winger Hakim Ziyech, and forward Youssef en Nesyri.
Sadio Mane from Senegal and Mohamed Salah from Egypt, both previous two-time winners of the award, have also received nominations.
Walid Regragui, who assumed the position as the head coach of Morocco only a few months before the World Cup, is one of the 10 nominees for the Coach of the Year award.
The Club Player of the Year nominees encompass Fiston Mayele from the Democratic Republic of Congo, who was the top scorer in both the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup last season.
The nominations for the seven categories were compiled by CAF technical experts, African football legends, and media representatives.
Nominees for the women’s awards will be released later.
The awards ceremony is set to take place on Monday, December 11, in the central Moroccan city of Marrakech.
