Sierra Leone Excluded from Nominees in 2023 African Football Awards

In a disappointing turn of events, Sierra Leone finds itself excluded from the list of nominees in the 2023 African Football Awards. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has recently unveiled the nominees for the men’s categories for the CAF Awards 2023, as the preparations for the Awards Gala, set for December 11, 2023, in Marrakech, Morocco, continue to gain momentum.

A panel consisting of CAF Technical Experts, African Football Legends, and selected media representatives from various countries compiled the preliminary list for the different categories. This list considered the performance of the nominees between November 2022 and September 2023.

The nominations feature thirty players vying for the prestigious CAF African Player of the Year award, with an additional 20 players competing for the CAF Interclub Player of the Year title. Furthermore, ten nominees each are in contention for Coach of the Year, CAF National Team of the Year, Club of the Year, and CAF Young Player of the Year (for players under 21).

In an exciting development, CAF has introduced the CAF African Goalkeeper of the Year Category (Men and Women), expanding the recognition to exceptional goalkeepers. Ten players have been nominated for this novel award.

The ultimate winners in each category will be determined through votes from a panel comprising the CAF Technical Committee, media professionals, Head Coaches, and Captains of Member Associations, as well as clubs involved in the group stages of the Interclub competitions.

Notably, the nominees for the Women’s categories will be announced at a later date.

Sadio Mane from Senegal was crowned the CAF African Player of the Year during the last Awards Gala in July 2022 in Rabat, Morocco. Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala also received the honor of CAF African Women’s Player of the Year for a record fifth time during the same event.

Despite Sierra Leone’s absence in this year’s nominations, the CAF Awards Gala remains a significant event to reward and celebrate exceptional players, officials, and administrators who made their mark during the review period.

Full List of Nominees (in alphabetic order by Member Association):

Player of the Year (Men)

1. Ramy Bensebaini (Algeria and Borussia Dortmund)
2. Riyad Mahrez (Algeria and Al Ahli)
3. Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso and Bayer Leverkusen)
4. Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa (Cameroon and SSC Napoli)
5. Vincent Aboubacar (Cameroon and Besiktas)
6. Ibrahima Sangare (Cote d’Ivoire and Nottingham Forest)
7. Seko Fofana (Cote d’Ivoire and Al Nassr)
8. Chancel Mbemba (DR Congo and Olympique Marseille)
9. Fiston Mayele (DR Congo and Pyramids)
10. Mahmoud Abdel Moneim “Kahraba” (Egypt and Ahly)
11. Mohamed Abdelmonem (Egypt and Al Ahly)
12. Mohamed ElShenawy (Egypt and Al Ahly)
13. Mohamed Salah (Egypt and Liverpool)
14. Mohammed Kudus (Ghana and West Ham United)
15. Thomas Partey (Ghana and Arsenal)
16. Serhou Guirassy (Guinea and VfB Stuttgart)
17. Yves Bissouma (Mali and Tottenham Hotspur)
18. Achraf Hakimi (Morocco and Paris Saint-Germain)
19. Azzedine Ounahi (Morocco and Olympique Marseille)
20. Hakim Ziyech (Morocco and Galatasaray)
21. Sofyan Amrabat (Morocco and Manchester United)
22. Yahya Jabrane (Morocco and Wydad Athletic Club)
23. Yassine Bounou (Morocco and Al Hilal)
24. Youssef En-Nesyri (Morocco and Sevilla)
25. Peter Shalulile (Namibia and Mamelodi Sundowns)
26. Victor Osimhen (Nigeria and SSC Napoli)
27. Sadio Mane (Senegal and Al Nassr)
28. Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal and Tottenham Hotspur)
29. Percy Tau (South Africa and Al Ahly)
30. Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane (Tunisia and Ferencvaros

Goalkeeper of the Year (Men)

1. Mohamed ElShenawy (Egypt and Al Ahly)
2. Yassine Bounou (Morocco & Al Hilal)
3. Andre Onana (Cameroon and Manchester United)
4. Ronwen Williams (South Africa and Mamelodi Sundowns)
5. Edouard Mendy (Senegal and Al Ahli)
6. Oussama Benbot (Algeria and USM Alger)
7. Youssef El Motie (Morocco and Wydad Athletic Club)
8. Djigui Diarra (Mali and Young Africans)
9. Pape Mamadou Sy (Senegal and Generation Foot)
10. Landing Badji (Senegal and AS Pikine

Interclub Player of the Year (Men)

1. Aymen Mahious (Algeria and USM Alger/Yverdon-Sport)
2. Oussama Benbot (Algeria and USM Alger)
3. Zineddine Belaid (Algeria and USM Alger)
4. Fiston Mayele (DR Congo and Young Africans/Pyramids)
5. Makabi Lilepo (DR Congo and Al Hilal/Valenciennes)
6. Hussein El Shahat (Egypt and Al Ahly)
7. Mahmoud Abdel Moneim “Kahraba” (Egypt and Ahly)
8. Mohamed Abdelmonem (Egypt and Al Ahly)
9. Mohamed ElShenawy (Egypt and Al Ahly)
10. Mostafa Fathi (Egypt and Pyramids)
11. Djigui Diarra (Mali and Young Africans)
12. Yahia Attiyat Allah (Morocco and Wydad Club Athletic)
13. Yahya Jabrane (Morocco and Wydad Athletic Club)
14. Youssef El Motie (Morocco and Wydad Athletic Club)
15. Peter Shalulile (Namibia and Mamelodi Sundowns)
16. Percy Tau (South Africa and Al Ahly)
17. Ranga Chivaviro (South Africa and Marumo Gallants/Kaizer Chiefs)
18. Ronwen Williams (South Africa and Mamelodi Sundowns)
19. Ali Maaloul (Tunisia and Al Ahly)
20. Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane (Tunisia and Esperance Sportive de Tunis /Ferencvaros

Young Player of the Year (Men)

1. Dango Ouattara (Burkina Faso and Bournemouth)
2. Souleymane Alio (Burkina Faso and New Stars)
3. Ernest Nuamah (Ghana & Olympique Lyonnais)
4. Abdessamad Ezzalzouli (Morocco and Betis)
5. Bilal El Khannous (Morocco and Genk)
6. Gift Orban (Nigeria and KAA Gent)
7. Lamine Camara (Senegal and Generation Foot/Metz)
8. Pape Amadou Diallo (Senegal and Generation Foot/Metz)
9. Pape Demba Diop (Senegal and Zulte Waregem)
10. Amara Diouf (Senegal and Generation Foot

Coach of the Year (Men)

1. Abdelhak Benchikha (USM Alger)
2. Marcel Koller (Al Ahly)
3. Juan Micha Obiang (Equatorial Guinea)
4. Tom Saintfiet (The Gambia)
5. Baciro Cande (Guinea Bissau)
6. Amir Abdou (Mauritania)
7. Walid Regragui (Morocco)
8. Chiquinho Conde (Mozambique
9. Aliou Cisse (Senegal)
10.  Pape Thiaw (Senegal – CHAN)

National Team of the Year (Men)

1. Cape Verde

2. The Gambia

3. Guinea Bissau

4. Equatorial Guinea

5. Mauritania

6. Morocco

7. Mozambique

8. Namibia

9. Senegal

10. Tanzania

Club of the Year (Men)

1. CR Belouizdad (Algeria)

2. USM Alger (Algeria)

3. ASEC Mimosas (Cote d’Ivoire)

4. Al Ahly (Egypt)

5. Raja Club Athletic (Morocco)

6. Wydad Athletic Club (Morocco)

7. Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)

8. Marumo Gallants (South Africa)

9. Esperance de Tunis (Tunisia)

10. Young Africans (Tanzania)