Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen is among the 10 nominees for the prestigious African Player of the Year award, which will be announced at the CAF Awards 2023 on Monday, 11 December 2023, in Marrakech, Morocco.
The Confederation of African Football had earlier released a shortlist of 30 players for the African Player of the Year award on November 1, with Osimhen as the only Nigerian making the cut.
Osimhen achieved an incredible feat at club level, leading Napoli to their first Italian Serie A title in 33 years and emerging as top scorer with 26 goals – the first African to achieve such feat.
He also led the club to their first-ever quarter-final placement in the UEFA Champions League.
The Nigeria international not only became the first African top scorer in the league, he also became the African with the most goals in the league, surpassing former AC Milan striker and current Liberian president George Weah.
Osimhen also surpassed Cameroonian Samuel Eto’o’s feat to become the African with the most goals in a single Serie A season. Eto’o had found the back of the net 21 times in the 2010/11 campaign.
Osimhen will face stiff competition from some of the best players in the continent, including last year’s winner Sadio Mane of Senegal, who plays for Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr, and Mohamed Salah of Egypt, who plays for English club Liverpool.
Other nominees are Riyad Mahrez of Algeria, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Vincent Aboubacar of Cameroon, Achraf Hakimi, Sofyan Amrabat, Yassine Bounou and Youssef En-Nesyri of Morocco.
The winner of the African Player of the Year award will be decided by a voting panel consisting of CAF Technical Committee, media professionals, Head Coaches & Captains of Member Associations and clubs involved in the group stages of the Interclub competitions.
CAF has also announced the shortlists for other categories, such as Goalkeeper of the Year, Interclub Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, National Team of the Year and Club of the Year.
KRC Gent striker Gift Orban who was the only Nigerian player among the top 10 contenders for the 2023 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Men’s Young Player of the Year award however failed to make the five-man shorlist.
Full List of Nominees (in alphabetic order by Member Association):
Player of the Year (Men)
- Riyad Mahrez (Algeria, Al Ahli)
- Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa (Cameroon, SSC Napoli)
- Vincent Aboubacar (Cameroon, Besiktas)
- Mohamed Salah (Egypt, Liverpool)
- Achraf Hakimi (Morocco, Paris Saint-Germain)
- Sofyan Amrabat (Morocco, Manchester United)
- Yassine Bounou (Morocco, Al Hilal)
- Youssef En-Nesyri (Morocco, Sevilla)
- Victor Osimhen (Nigeria, SSC Napoli)
- Sadio Mane (Senegal, Al Nassr)
Goalkeeper of the Year (Men)
- Mohamed ElShenawy (Egypt, Al Ahly)
- Yassine Bounou (Morocco, Al Hilal)
- Andre Onana (Cameroon, Manchester United)
- Ronwen Williams (Sout Africa, Mamelodi Sundowns)
- Edouard Mendy (Senegal, Al Ahli)
Interclub Player of the Year (Men)
- Aymen Mahious (Algeria, USM Alger/Yverdon-Sport)
- Zineddine Belaid (Algeria, USM Alger)
- Fiston Mayele (DR Congo, Young Africans/Pyramids)
- Mahmoud Abdel Moneim “Kahraba” (Egypt, Al Ahly)
- Mohamed ElShenawy (Egypt, Al Ahly)
- Yahia Attiyat Allah (Morocco, Wydad Club Athletic)
- Yahya Jabrane (Morocco, Wydad Athletic Club)
- Peter Shalulile (Namibia, Mamelodi Sundowns)
- Percy Tau (South Africa, Al Ahly)
- Ali Maaloul (Tunisia, Al Ahly)
Young Player of the Year (U-21) (Men)
- Dango Ouattara (Burkina Faso, Bournemouth)
- Abdessamad Ezzalzouli (Morocco, Real Betis)
- Bilal El Khannous (Morocco, KRC Genk)
- Lamine Camara (Senegal, Generation Foot/Metz)
- Amara Diouf (Senegal, Generation Foot)
Coach of the Year (Men)
- Abdelhak Benchikha (USM Alger)
- Marcel Koller (Al Ahly)
- Tom Saintfiet (The Gambia)
- Walid Regragui (Morocco)
- Aliou Cisse (Senegal)
National Team of the Year (Men)
- The Gambia
- Equatorial Guinea
- Mauritania
- Morocco
- Senegal
Club of the Year (Men)
- USM Alger (Algeria)
- Al Ahly (Egypt)
- Wydad Athletic Club (Morocco)
- Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)
- Young Africans (Tanzania)
