The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has unveiled a list of thirty names for the title of African Player of the Year, as well as for the contenders for the trophies of best player in CAF interclub competitions, best young player, best coach , best club and best national team. The nominees for the women’s trophies will be announced on July 5. The award ceremony will take place on July 21 in Rabat.
Will Sadio Mané succeed himself, two and a half years after his previous 2019 African Player of the Year ? The Senegalese, like his African champion teammates Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly, Nampalys Mendy and Saliou Ciss, is in any case in a list of thirty names for the 2022 edition. A list that also gives pride of place to vice-champions African Egyptians (Mohamed Salah, Mohamed Elneny, Mohamed El Shenawy and Mohamed Abdelmonem) and Moroccans (Achraf Hakimi, Sofiane Boufal, Yahya Jabrane and Yassine Bounou).
No Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Apart from Mané and Salah, only one other former winner appears among the thirty: the Algerian Riyad Mahrez. The Gabonese Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is not there. The jurors preferred him elements who shone during continental competitions, such as Cameroonian Vincent Aboubakar, top scorer of CAN 2021, and Ivorian Sébastien Haller, impressive in the European Champions League.
” A panel comprised of technical experts, CAF legends and journalists decided on the shortlist in different categories taking into consideration the candidate’s performance at all levels between September 2021 and June 2022 “, specifies the Confederation of African Football in a press release.
A Brazilian, best interclub player?
For this great return of the CAF Awards, the organizers have established a prize for the best player in interclub competitions. If the residents of Wydad (Yahya Jabrane, Zouhair El Moutara and Achraf Dari), who won the 2022 African Champions League (C1), seem favorites, could we see a big surprise? The Brazilian Tiago Azulao, best director in C1, is one of the contenders…
For the title of best youngster, the suspense seems complete between the ten nominees. On the other hand, there shouldn’t be any big surprises for the club of the year, the manager of the year and the national team of the year. Will these last two distinctions escape the Senegalese selection, winner of CAN 2021 and qualified for the 2022 World Cup, and his mentor Aliou Cissé?
Awards ceremony on July 21
CAF has also specified that the names of the candidates for the women’s trophies will be revealed on July 5, shortly after the start of the Women’s African Cup of Nations in Morocco (July 2-23).
Note that the trophy ceremony (CAF Awards 2022) will take place on July 21 in Rabat. It will be the big return of the CAF Awards after two years absence, in particular because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Player of the Year (Men):
Riyad Mahrez (Algeria/Manchester City)
Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso/Aston Villa)
Blati Touré (Burkina Faso/Pyramids FC)
Edmund Tapsoba (Burkina Faso/Bayer Leverkusen)
André-Frank Zambo Anguissa (Cameroon/Naples)
Karl Toko Ekambi (Cameroon/Lyon)
Vincent Aboubacar (Cameroon/Al Nassr)
Youssouf M’Changama (Comoros/Guingamp)
Franck Kessie (Ivory Coast/AC Milan)
Sebastien Haller (Ivory Coast/Ajax)
Mohamed Abdelmonem (Egypt/Al Ahly)
Mohamed Elneny (Egypt/Arsenal)
Mohamed Salah (Egypt/Liverpool)
Mohamed Shenawy (Egypt/Al Ahly)
Musa Barrow (Gambia/Bologna)
Naby Keita (Guinea/Liverpool)
Aliou Dieng (Mali/Al Ahly)
Hamari Traoré (Mali/Rennes)
Yves Bissouma (Mali/Tottenham)
Achraf Hakimi (Morocco/Paris Saint-Germain)
Sofiane Boufal (Morocco/Angers)
Yahya Jabrane (Morocco/Wydad)
Yassine Bounou (Morocco/Seville)
Moses Simon (Nigeria/Nantes)
Edouard Mendy (Senegal/Chelsea)
Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal/Naples)
Nampalys Mendy (Senegal/Leicester City)
Sadio Mané (Senegal/Bayern Munich)
Saliou Ciss (Senegal/Nancy)
Ali Maaloul (Tunisia/Al Ahly)
Interclub Player of the Year (Men):
Bandile Shandu (Orlando Pirates)
Peter Shalulile (Mamelodi Sundowns)
Thembinkosi Lorch (Orlando Pirates)
Riad Benayad (ES Setif)
Tiago Azulao (Petro Atlético)
Karim Konaté (ASEC Mimomas)
Ali Maaloul (Al Ahly)
Aliou Dieng (Al Ahly)
Mohamed Shenawy (Al Ahly)
Mohamed Sherif (Al Ahly)
Percy Tau (Al Ahly)
Morlaye Sylla (Horoya)
Ashraf Dari (Wydad)
Yahya Jabrane (Wydad)
Zouhair El Moutaraji (Wydad)
Mouhcine Moutouali (Raja)
Issoufou Dayo (RS Berkane)
Youssou El Fahli (RS Berkane)
Victorien Adebayor (Niger/National Gendarmerie Sports Union)
Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane (Esperance Sportive de Tunis)
Young player of the year (men):
Dango Ouattara (Burkina Faso/Lorient)
Karim Konaté (Ivory Coast / ASEC / RB Salzburg)
Jesus Owono (Equatorial Guinea/Alaves)
James Gomez (Gambia/AC Horsens)
Kamaldeen Sulemana (Ghana/Rennes)
Ilaix Moriba Kourouma (Guinea/Valencia)
El Bilal Touré (Mali/Reims)
Akinkunmi Amoo (Nigeria/FC Copenhagen)
Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal/Metz)
Hannibal Mejbri (Tunisia/Manchester United)
Coach of the Year (Men):
Mandla Ncikazi (Orlando Pirates)
Kamou Malo (Burkina Faso)
Amir Abdou (Comoros)
Carlos Quieroz (Egypt)
Pitso Mosimane (Al Ahly)
Tom Saintfiet (Gambia)
Florent Ibenge (RS Berkane)
Vahid Halilhodzic (Morocco)
Walid Regragui (Wydad)
Aliou Cisse (Senegal)
National Team of the Year (Men):
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Comoros
Egypt
Equatorial Guinea
Gambia
mali
Morocco
Senegal
Tunisia
Club of the Year (Men):
Orlando Pirates (South Africa)
ES Setif (Algeria)
Petro Atlético (Angola)
TP Mazembe (DR Congo)
Al Ahly (Egypt)
Ahli Tripoli (Libya)
Al Ittihad (Libya)
Raja Club Athletic (Morocco)
RS Berkane (Morocco)
Wydad Athletic Club (Morocco)