The Confederation of African Football (CAF) will award individual awards to the best players in African football this Monday, December 16 in Marrakech. 15 awards will be given to honor the talents who have marked African football in 2024. Here is the full presentation of the nominees.
Featured category: African Player of the Year
The African Player of the Year trophy is eagerly awaited. Confusingly called the “African Golden Ball” in reference to the FIFA/France Football Golden Ball, the prize rewards the best player on the continent. The five appointed to succeed Nigerian Victor Osimhen are:
- Ronwen Williams (South Africa / Mamelodi Sundowns FC)
- Simon Adingra (Ivory Coast / Brighton)
- Serhou Guirassy (Guinea / Borussia Dortmund)
- Achraf Hakimi (Morocco / PSG)
- Ademola Lookman (Nigeria / Atalanta Bergame)
Serhou Guirassy and Ademola Lookman are the big favorites. The Guinean distinguished himself in the Bundesliga last season by being the vice-top scorer in the German championship with Stuttgart (28 goals, in 28 games) and thus caught the eye of Dortmund who recruited him last July. The Nigerian shines in Serie A in Italy; his club Atalanta Bergamo is leader of the championship. At the end of last season, Lookman won the Europa League by scoring a hat-trick.
A sign of renewal in progress, none of the finalists have yet won this prestigious title. At the same time, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané and Victor Osimhen, all former winners, are not among the nominees this year.
The other categories and their names
The evening will also reward talents in other categories:
Goalkeeper of the year : André Onana (Cameroon / Manchester United); Yahia Fofana (Ivory Coast / Angers SCO); Ronwen Williams (South Africa / Mamelodi Sundowns)
Goalkeeper of the Year : Khadija Er-Rmichi (Maroc / AS FAR); Chiamaka Nnadozie (Nigeria/Paris FC); Andile Dlamini (Afrique du Sud / Mamelodi Sundowns)
Interclub Player of the Year Ahmed Sayed “Zizo” (Egypt / Zamalek); Hussein El Shahat (Egypt / Al Ahly) Ronwen Williams (South Africa / Mamelodi Sundowns)
Interclub Player of the Year: Lacho Flora Marta (Angola / TP Mazembe) ; Doha El Madani (Morocco / AS FAR) ; Sanaa Mssoudy (Morocco / AS FAR)
Young Player of the Year : Karim Konaté (Ivory Coast / Salzburg); Oumar Diakité (Ivory Coast / Reims); Lamine Camara (Senegal / AS Monaco)
Young Player of the Year : Habiba Sabry (Egypt / FC Masar) ; Doha El Madani (Morocco / AS FAR) Chiamaka Okuchukwu (Nigeria / Rivers Angels)
Men’s National Team of the Year : Ivory Coast; Nigeria; South Africa;
National Women’s Team of the Year : Morocco ; Nigeria; South Africa
Men’s Club of the Year: Al Ahly (Egypt); Zamalek (Egypt); Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)
Women’s Club of the Year : TP Mazembe (RD Congo); AS FAR (Maroc); Edo Queens (Nigeria)
Men’s Soccer Coach of the Year : Pitso Mosimane (South Africa / Al Wahda); Aliou Cissé (Senegal / National team); Walid Regragui (Morocco / National team).
Women’s Soccer Coach of the Year : Desiree Ellis (South Africa / National team); Reynald Pedros (Morocco / National team); Mercy Tagoe-Quarcoo (Ghana / Berry Ladies).
