The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has revealed the shortlist for the 2026 CAF Men’s Player of the Year including holder Achraf Hakimi of Morocco and PSG.

Hakimi will battle ten others including former player of the Year Sadio Mane of Senegal who plays for Al Nasser on the list released ahead of the Prestigious awards to be held in Lagos, Nigeria on Monday December 07, 2026.

Others on the short list are Manchester United and Ivory Coast’s Amad Diallo, Manchester City and Ghana’s Antonine Semenyo, Brahim Diaz of Morocco and Real Madrid, compatriot Ismael Saibari of Bayern Munich, Senegal’s Ismaila Sarr and Pape Gueye and DR Congo’s Yoane Wissa who represents Newcastle in the English Premier League.

South African midfield gem, Teboho Mokoena is the only player based in Africa on the shortlist.

The CAF Awards 2026 will also recognise the outstanding contributions of goalkeepers, coaches, young players, clubs and national teams that have distinguished themselves during the year.

Ten nominees have been selected in each of the seven Men’s categories: Player of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year, Interclub Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Young Player of the Year, National Team of the Year and Club of the Year.

Summary of nominations

CAF Men’s Player of the Year

Nominees:

·       Amad Diallo (Côte d’Ivoire/Manchester United)

·       Yoane Wissa (DR Congo/Newcastle United)

·       Antoine Semenyo (Ghana/Manchester City)

·       Ismael Saibari (Morocco/Bayern Munich)

·       Achraf Hakimi (Morocco/Paris Saint-Germain)

·       Brahim Diaz (Morocco/Real Madrid)

·       Ismaila Sarr (Senegal/Crystal Palace)

·       Pape Gueye (Senegal/Villarreal)

·       Sadio Mané (Senegal/Al-Nassr)

·       Teboho Mokoena (South Africa/Mamelodi Sundowns)

CAF’s Men Goalkeeper of the Year

·       Oussama Benbot (Algeria/USM Alger)

·       Josimar José Évora Dias ‘Vozinha’ (Cabo Verde/Colo-Colo)

·       Yahia Fofana (Côte d’Ivoire/Rizespor)

·       Lionel Mpasi (DR Congo/Le Havre)

·       El-Mahdi Soliman (Egypt/Zamalek)

·       Mostafa Shobeir (Egypt/Al Ahly)

·       Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti (Morocco/AS FAR)

·       Yassine Bonou (Morocco/Al Hilal)

·       Edouard Mendy (Senegal/Al Ahli)

·       Ronwen Williams (South Africa/Mamelodi Sundowns)

CAF Men’s Interclub of the YEAR

·       Abdennour Belhocini (Algeria/CR Belouizdad)

·       Ahmed Khaldi (Algeria/USM Alger)

·       Mahmoud Hassan ‘Trezeguet’ (Egypt/Al Ahly)

·       Mohamed Shehata (Egypt/Zamalek)

·       Mohamed Rabie Hrimat (Morocco/AS FAR)

·       Mounir Chouiar (Morocco/RS Berkane)

·       Sofiane El Moudane (Morocco/Olympic Safi)

·       Khuliso Mudau (South Africa/Mamelodi Sundowns)

·       Teboho Mokoena (South Africa/Mamelodi Sundowns)

·       Abdel Raouf (Sudan/Al Hilal)

CAF Men’s coach of the YEAR

·       Lamine N’Diaye (USM Alger)

·       Pedro Leitão Brito ‘Bubista’ (Cabo Verde)

·       Sébastien Desabre (DR Congo)

·       Hossam Hassan (Egypt)

·       Moatamed Gamal (Zamalek)

·       Alexandre Santos (AS FAR)

·       Mohamed Ouahbi (Morocco)

·       Walid Regragui (Morocco)

·       Pape Thiaw (Senegal)

·       Miguel Cardoso (Mamelodi Sundowns)

CAF Men’s Young Player of the YEAR

·       Ibrahim Maza (Algeria/Bayer Leverkusen)

·       Christian Kofane (Cameroon/Bayer Leverkusen)

·       Christ Inao (Côte d’Ivoire/Fiorentina)

·       Yan Diomande (Côte d’Ivoire/Real Madrid)

·       Hamza Abdelkarim (Egypt/Barcelona)

·       Caleb Yirenkyi (Ghana/Coventry City)

·       Ismael Kamissoko (Mali/Etoiles Mandé)

·       Abdellah Ouazane (Morocco/Ajax)

·       Ayoub Bouaddi (Morocco/Manchester City)

·       Ibrahim Mbaye (Senegal/Aston Villa)

CAF Men’s National Team of the YEAR

·       Algeria

·       Cabo Verde

·       Côte d’Ivoire

·       DR Congo

·       Egypt

·       Ghana

·       Morocco

·       Senegal

·       South Africa

·       Tunisia

CAF Men’s Club of the YEAR

·       CR Belouizdad (Algeria)

·       USM Alger (Algeria)

·       AS Maniema (DR Congo)

·       Zamalek (Egypt)

·       AS FAR (Morocco)

·       Olympic Safi (Morocco)

·       RS Berkane (Morocco)

·       Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)

·       Al Hilal (Sudan)

·       Espérance Sportive de Tunis (Tunisia)