Who will be crowned Africa’s player of the year?

• The CAF Awards will be held in Morocco Monday night
• Victor Osimhen, Mo Salah and Achraf Hakimi are contending for the top award
• There will be several award categories

Who will be crowned the 2023 CAF Africa player of the year? The question will be answered Monday night as CAF holds the annual awards in the Moroccan city of Marrakech, in what is expected to be a beautifully crafted event.

Napoli and Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen, Mo Salah of Liverpool and Egypt as well as Morocco and PSG’s Achraf Hakimi have been nominated for the top award, player of the year.

Osimhen, recently awarded as the best player in Italy from last season had a brilliant campaign with Napoli, helping them clinch the scudetto for the first time in 33 years.

The lanky 24-year old striker was making headlines and breaking records for the Italian side. On 11 November, he scored a goal and assisted another to help Napoli win 2–1 at Atalanta, becoming Nigeria’s highest goal scorer in the Italian Serie A with 32 goals, and surpassing Simy’s record of 31.

He also became the first ever player in the history of Napoli in the three-point era to score in seven league games in a row. He also became Africa’s highest scorer in Serie A with 47 goals, surpassing George Weah’s record. He finished the season as top scorer in Italy, netting 26 league goals in Napoli’s conquering season.

Meanwhile, Hakimi played a starring role for Morocco in their run up to clinching a semi-final slot at the World Cup, becoming the best ever preforming side in the global competition.

Salah with good season for Liverpool 

Mohammed Salah celebrates after scoring for Egypt. Photo/ The Guardian

Salah also had a good season with Liverpool, and has this season surpassed the 200-goal mark for the reds.

Meanwhile, his teammate Mohamed Elshenawy will compete with Manchester United’s Andre Onana and Morocco’s Yassine Bono for the goalkeeper of the year award.

Elshenawy, skipper of both the Egyptian national team and record African champions Al Ahly had a brilliant year in 2023, having been at the peak of his performances for both club and country.

The shot stopper who battled through injury in 2022 to return to tip top shape in 2023 played a critical role between the sticks as Egypt qualified for another AFCON appearance.

For his club Al Ahly, he played an integral role as they clinched their record extending 11^th Total Energies CAF Champions League title, as well as dominating the domestic titles in Egypt where they won the Premier League and the Egyptian Super Cup.

Just like Elshenawy, Bounou also shone for both club and country. A nominee of the Yashin Trophy where he finished third, the 32-year old was a key figure in Morocco’s run to the semi-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

He kept four clean sheets in six World Cup matches in which he played. His peak performance came in the quarter finals, where they beat Spain 3-0 on post-match penalties, and he saved two.

Bonou influential for Sevilla 

Bono plays for the Morocco international team. |PHOTO: ESPN|

For his club, The Moroccan was also influential. He helped Sevilla clinch their seventh Europa League title where he saved one penalty in the final against Roma. He was also named in the Europa League team of the season.

He moved on to the Saud Pro League and signed for Al Hilal, and was named the league’s player of the month in October.

Onana was also one of the continent’s best goalkeepers in 2023, doing diligent duty for both his club and country. He was part of Cameroon’s squad at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, where he was also a key figure of the squad.

Before he joined Manchester United, Onana was a starring member of the Inter Milan squad that reached the UEFA Champions League final, where they lost to Manchester City.

He was also part of the Milan squad that clinched the 2022-23 Coppa Italia title.