CAF Awards 2025: Osimhen, Salah, among nominees for African Footballer of the Year, South Africa U20 overlooked for Team Award
African Footballer of the Year nominees
Victor Osimhen and Mohamed Salah headline the 10-man shortlist provided by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for the 2025 African Footballer of the Year award.
Salah won the prestigious award in 2017 and 2018 and is considered one of the front-runners this year after enjoying an incredible season with Liverpool in the Premier League. The Egyptian King delivered 29 goals and 18 assists in 38 league games, helping the Reds win their 20th top-flight title.
Osimhen rediscovered his goal-scoring prowess in Turkey with Galatasaray, while runner-up in the last two years, Achraf Hakimi, is also in contention after playing a crucial role in Paris Saint-Germain’s incredible treble-winning season, which included their first Champions League title.
Fiston Mayele of DR Congo earned his first nomination after helping Egyptian Premier League outfit Pyramids FC win the CAF Champions League against Mamelodi Sundowns. Notably, last year’s winner, Ademola Lookman, did not make the cut after a tough season with Atalanta.
Nominees:
- Mohamed Salah - Liverpool/ Egypt
- Victor Osimhen - Galatasaray/ Nigeria
- Achraf Hakimi - PSG/ Morocco
- Andre Frand Zambo-Anguissa - Napoli/ Cameroon
- Fiston Mayele - Pyramids/ DR Congo
- Denis Bouanga - Los Angeles FC/ Gabon
- Serhou Guirassy - Borussia Dortmund/ Guinea
- Oussama Lamlioui - RS Berkane/ Morocco
- Iliman Ndiaye - Everton/ Senegal
- Pape Matar Sarr - Tottenham/ Senegal
Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year nominees
Despite having a poor season in England with Manchester United, Andre Onana has earned a spot on the list of nominees for the Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year. Current holder Ronwen Williams also made the cut, alongside Yassine Bounou and Super Eagles' Stanley Nwabali.
Nominees:
- Andre Onana - Cameroon/ Trabzonspor
- Vozinha - Cape Verde/ Chaves
- Ahmed El Shenawy - Egypt/ Pyramids
- Munir Mohamedi - Morocco/ RS Berkane
- Yassine Bonou - Morocco/ Al Hilal
- Stanley Nwabali - Nigeria/ Chippa United
- Edouard Mendy - Senegal/ Al Ahli
- Marc Diouf - Senegal/ Tengueth
- Ronwen Williams - South Africa/ Mamelodi Sundowns
- Aymen Dahmen - Tunisia/ CS Sfaxie
Men’s Coach of the Year nominees
In the Men’s Coach of the Year category, Bubista is considered one of the favourites for the title after leading Cape Verde to their first World Cup qualification. Mohamed Ouahbi, who took Morocco U-20 to the World Cup title, Hossam Hassan, Walid Regragui and Pape Thiaw have also been included in the 10-man shortlist.
Nominees:
- Bubista - Cape Verde
- Hossam Hassan - Egypt
- Krunoslav Jurcic - Pyramids
- Sami Trabelsi - Tunisia
- Romuald Rakotondrabe - Madagascar
- Moine Chaabani - RS Berkane
- Tarik Sektioui - Morocco
- Mohamed Ouahbi - Morocco U-20
- Walid Regragui - Morocco
- Pape Thiaw - Senegal
Men’s National Team of the Year nominees
The Men’s National Team of the Year nominees list raised a few eyebrows, with the South Africa U-20 side overlooked for the award despite winning their first U-20 Africa Cup of Nations title. South Africa’s senior team, Bafana Bafana, along with Ghana, the Ivory Coast and Morocco U-20, made the cut.
Nominees
- Algeria
- Cape Verde
- Egypt
- Ghana
- Ivory Coast
- Morocco
- Morocco U-20
- Senegal
- South Africa
- Tunisia
