CAF Awards 2023: Kudus and Partey among the 30-man shortlist for African Best Player
Ghanaian duo Mohammed Kudus and Thomas Partey have been shortlisted among the best 30 players on the continent.
Arsenal midfielder Partey and West Ham attacker Kudus’ performances for their clubs and country in 2023 caught the eyes of the technical committee of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
The Ghanaians will join other 28 African players to vie for the topmost individual award in African soccer for 2023.
CAF has revealed the list of nominees for the men’s categories for the CAF Awards 2023 scheduled for December 11, 2023, in Marrakech, Morocco.
According to CAF, a panel of technical experts, soccer legends, and selected media representatives from a number of 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.
Meanwhile, 20 players were also nominated for the CAF Interclub Player of the Year with Coach of the Year, CAF National Team of the Year, Club of the Year, and CAF Young Player of the Year categories getting 10 preliminary nominees respectively.
This year’s award ceremony will honor African goalkeepers for their performances. The committee has therefore nominated 10 players for this maiden award.
CAF is yet to release the nominees for the Women’s categories.
In 2022, Senegal forward Sadio Mane was crowned CAF African Player of the Year whilst Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala won the CAF African Women’s Player of the Year for a record fifth time.
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)