Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi will be hoping to retain his African Footballer of the Year award when the winner is announced on December 2.

Hakimi is among three Moroccan players shortlisted for the prestigious award by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The other two are Brahim Diaz and Ismael Saibari.

However, Egyptian star Mohamed Salah, a two-time winner of the award, is surprisingly missing from the 10-man shortlist.

The three Moroccan players plAt club level, Saibari joined Bayern Munich this summer in a reported €50m transfer, while Diaz continued to impress with Real Madrid.

Hakimi also helped Paris Saint-Germain win the Champions League for the second consecutive season.

The Moroccan defender won the African Footballer of the Year award in 2025, becoming the first Moroccan since 1998 and the first defender since 1973 to receive the honour.

Other players shortlisted for the men’s award are Ivory Coast’s Amad Diallo, DR Congo’s Yoane Wissa, Ghana’s Antoine Semenyo, Senegal’s Ismaila Sarr, Pape Gueye and Sadio Mane, as well as South Africa’s Teboho Mokoena.

Salah’s absence has attracted attention, considering his achievements and status as one of Africa’s leading footballers. The former Liverpool forward, who now plays for Turkish club Trabzonspor, won the award in 2017 and 2018. Senegal’s Mane won it in the following two years.

Senegal had initially won the match 1-0 after extra time. However, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is expected to decide on Senegal’s appeal against the decision to award Morocco the title at the end of November.

The World Cup also influenced nominations in other categories, particularly the coach, goalkeeper and young player awards.

Egypt’s Hossam Hassan and DR Congo’s Sebastien Desabre made the shortlist for Coach of the Year after leading their countries to the World Cup round of 16.

Moroccan coaches Mohamed Ouahbi and Walid Regragui were also nominated. Ouahbi led the team at the World Cup, while Regragui was in charge during the qualification campaign.

Cabo Verde coach Pedro Leitao Brito also earned a nomination after guiding the island nation to its first-ever World Cup appearance.

Goalkeeper Vonzinha, who attracted worldwide attention with his performances at the tournament, is among the nominees for Goalkeeper of the Year.

Egyptian goalkeepers El-Mahdi Soliman and Mostafa Shobeir are also shortlisted, alongside Morocco’s Yassine Bonou, who impressed at the World Cup and AFCON.

In the Young Player of the Year category, Ghana’s Caleb Yirenky earned recognition after scoring a dramatic stoppage-time winner against Panama in the Black Stars’ opening World Cup match.