Nigerian player Victor Osimhen was named one of 30 nominees for the 2022-2023 men’s African Player of the Year award on Wednesday.
The explosive Napoli forward led Serie A last season with 26 goals and 10 in 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying, including four in one game.
Morocco’s side, who created history by becoming Africa’s first World Cup semi-finalists in Qatar last December, is also a candidate.
Goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, defender Achraf Hakimi, midfielder Sofyan Amrabat, winger Hakim Ziyech, and striker Youssef en Nesyri are among them.
Both Senegal’s Sadio Mane and Egypt’s Mohamed Salah, both two-time winners of the award, have been nominated.
Walid Regragui, who took over as Morocco’s coach just months before the World Cup, is one of ten nominees for the coach award.
Fiston Mayele of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was named Club Player of the Year after scoring the most goals in both the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup previous season.
The lists for the seven categories were produced by CAF technical specialists, African football icons, and media representatives.
Nominees for the women’s awards will be released later.
The central Moroccan city of Marrakech has been selected to host the awards ceremony on Monday December 11.
