Liverpool attacker Mohamed Salah and Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey are among the 30 players shortlisted for the Caf 2023 Player of the Year awards set for December 11 in Marrakech, Morocco.
Red-hot Liverpool superstar Salah whose scoring streak has been remarkable since moving to Anfield, is among the favourites to bag the accolade. Al Ahly duo of Mohamed Abdelmonem and Mohamed ElShenawy are the other Egyptians shortlisted.
Partey plays for the Ghanaian national team but has missed most of the action this season for the Gunners because of a nagging knee injury. He was instrumental last season as Mikel Arteta-coached Arsenal side finished second in the Premier League.
Morocco has seven players on the list. They Include Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain), Azzedine Ounahi (Olympique Marseille), Hakim Ziyech (Galatasaray), Sofyan Amrabat (Manchester United), Yahya Jabrane (Wydad Athletic Club), Yassine Bounou (Al Hilal) and Youssef En-Nesyri (Sevilla).
Napoli striker Victor Osimhen who led the Italian giants to their first Serie A title in almost 30 years and Riyad Mahrez who won five Premier League titles with Manchester City before his transfer to Saudi Arabian side Al Ahli last summer have also made the cut.
A panel of Caf Technical Experts, African Football Legends and selected media representatives from several countries put together the preliminary list for the various categories with the performance of the nominees between November 2022 and September 2023 serving as the period under consideration.
For the first time, Caf has introduced the Caf African Goalkeeper of the Year Category (Men and Women) in the prestigious event that seeks to reward and celebrate exceptional Players, Officials and Administrators during the period under review.
It will be the first time that shot stoppers will be acknowledged for their performances, further expanding the network of winners for the annual event.
The nominees for the Women’s categories will be announced in due course.
Senegal forward Sadio Mane was crowned in 2022 whilst Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala won the women's category in the gala event held in Rabat, Morocco.
Full List of Nominees
- 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)
- Victor Osimhen (Nigeria and SSC Napoli)
- 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)