National Teams
CAF Awards 2023: Osimhen to battle Mahrez, Hakimi, 26 others for Player of the Year
By Monsurah Olatunji
Nigeria international Victor Osimhen, has been nominated for the 2023 CAF Men’s Player of the Year award.
The 24-year-old has become one of the most prolific forwards in European football in the last twelve months, helping Napoli to its first Scudetto triumph in over three decades (33 years) and the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League.
The Super Eagles star also won the Golden Boot, scoring 26 goals and becoming the highest-scoring African in the league, and he was also named the best striker in the league.
At the 2023 Ballon d’Or award held on Monday, Osimhen ranked 8th on the men’s list, thus becoming the highest-ranked Nigerian player ever and the only African player to make this year’s top 10.
The Napoli striker also made the top 30 nominees for the FIFA The Best award and will be seeking to become the first Nigerian to win the award since Nwankwo Kanu in 1999.
Other Nigerian winners of the CAF POTY in the past are Rashidi Yekini, (1993), Emmanuel Amunike (1994), and Victor Ikpeba (1997).
The 2023 Awards Gala is scheduled for December 11, 2023, in Marrakech, Morocco.
FULL LIST:
Victor Osimhen (Nigeria and SSC Napoli)
Ramy Bensebaini (Algeria and Borussia Dortmund)
Riyad Mahrez (Algeria and Al Ahli)
Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso and Bayer Leverkusen)
Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa (Cameroon and SSC Napoli)
Vincent Aboubacar (Cameroon and Besiktas)
Ibrahima Sangare (Cote d’Ivoire and Nottingham Forest)
Seko Fofana (Cote d’Ivoire and Al Nassr)
Chancel Mbemba (DR Congo and Olympique Marseille)
Fiston Mayele (DR Congo and Pyramids)
Mahmoud Abdel Moneim “Kahraba” (Egypt and Ahly)
Mohamed Abdelmonem (Egypt and Al Ahly)
Mohamed ElShenawy (Egypt and Al Ahly)
Mohamed Salah (Egypt and Liverpool)
Mohammed Kudus (Ghana and West Ham United)
Thomas Partey (Ghana and Arsenal)
Serhou Guirassy (Guinea and VfB Stuttgart)
Yves Bissouma (Mali and Tottenham Hotspur)
Achraf Hakimi (Morocco and Paris Saint-Germain)
Azzedine Ounahi (Morocco and Olympique Marseille)
Hakim Ziyech (Morocco and Galatasaray)
Sofyan Amrabat (Morocco and Manchester United)
Yahya Jabrane (Morocco and Wydad Athletic Club)
Yassine Bounou (Morocco and Al Hilal)
Youssef En-Nesyri (Morocco and Sevilla)
Peter Shalulile (Namibia and Mamelodi Sundowns)
Sadio Mane (Senegal and Al Nassr)
Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal and Tottenham Hotspur)
Percy Tau (South Africa and Al Ahly)
Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane (Tunisia and Ferencvaros)
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