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The nominees for the 2024 CAF Awards were released on Thursday and there is a strong case for a player based in Africa to be named African Footballer of the Year for the first time since 1985.
Confederation of African Football (CAF) revealed the nominees for the 2024 CAF Awards on Thursday ahead of the gala set to take place on December 16 in Marrakech, Morocco.
The list includes players who did well for their clubs as well as their nations at the delayed 2023 Africa Cup of Nations that took place in Ivory Coast early this year, looking to succeed 2023 winner Victor Osimhen of Nigeria.
However, unlike previous years, it appears there is no outright favourite for the prestigious award given the mixed fortunes of the nominees and from the list, perhaps one the most outstanding candidate is a player based in Africa.
The 10 nominees for Player if the Year are; Amine Gouiri (Algeria/Rennes), Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso/Bayer Leverkusen), Simon Adingra (Cote d'Ivoire/Brighton & Hove Albion), Chancel Mbemba (DR Congo/Olympique de Marseille) and Serhou Guirassy (Guinea/Borussia Dortmund).
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21:00 - 24.10.2024
Kenyans missing as CAF unveils top contenders for 2024 awards
Kenyans are missing from the 2024 CAF Awards men's categories, as CAF unveils its preliminary nominees, dominated by talents from Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa across various prestigious football awards.
Others are; Achraf Hakimi (Morocco/Paris Saint-Germain), Soufiane Rahimi (Morocco/Al Ain), Ademola Lookman (Nigeria/Atalanta), William Troost-Ekong (Nigeria/Al Kholood), Ronwen Williams (South Africa/Mamelodi Sundowns).
With Osimhen, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane missing from the list, the award is up for grabs and could see a player based in Africa win it for the first time in 39 years.
Morocco’s Mohamed Timoumi, then playing for AS FAR, is the last player based in Africa to be crowned African Footballer of the Year when he was feted in 1985 with European-based stars claiming all the others.
However, this year, there is a strong case for South Africa’s Ronwen Williams, who plays for Mamelodi Sundowns. Williams is only among two Ballon d’Or nominees on the CAF Awards list, the other one being Nigeria and Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman.
The goalkeeper, nominated for the Yashin Trophy, awarded to the best goalkeeper in the world, has been the best shot stopper on the continent following his impressive performances at AFCON 2023 where South Africa won a bronze medal while he also led Sundowns to Premier Soccer League and African Football League glory.
Williams was voted the best goalkeeper at AFCON 2023 for his heroics, which included saving a record four penalties in a game against Cape Verde, and two against DR Congo as Hugo Broos’ men went on to finish third, their best ever performance at the tournament in 24 years.
That makes him a firm favourite for the Player of the Year Award, even though he also received nominations in the Goalkeeper of the Year and Inter-Club Player of the Year categories.
The biggest threat to Williams is perhaps Lookman, who scored three goals for Nigeria on their way to the final of AFCON 2023, before losing to the hosts, while his incredible hat-trick delivered the Europa League crown to Atalanta.
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18:52 - 24.10.2024
CAF Awards 2024: When and where will the Africa Player of the Year be announced?
CAF has confirmed the venue and dates for the 2024 Player of the year awards.
From the list, Adingra made headlines for setting up both goals in the AFCON final as Ivory Coast beat Nigeria 2-1, Tabsoba won both Bundesliga and DFB Pokal with Leverkusen but Burkina Faso did not go past the Round of 16, Bemba’s DRC finished fourth, but Marseille did not have a good season in Ligue 1, while Guirassy drove Stuttgart to Champions League qualification with his 28 league goals although Guinea’s AFCON journey ended at the quarter-final.
Meanwhile, Hakimi and Rahimi got into AFCON as favourites to win it but were eliminated by South Africa at the Round of 16, while Troost-Ekong is on the list because of Nigeria’s run to the final.
While the other nominees also had good seasons, they did not better Williams’ and Lookman’s, meaning there is a big chance of a player based on the continent being named African Footballer of the Year for the first time in 39 years.
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