Africa’s most prestigious football award ceremony CAF Awards 2024 date has been announced by The Confederation of African Football (CAF). The 31st edition of the CAF Award will be organised in Marrakech, Morocco on the 16th of December 2024. It’s the third successive time, Morroco has been chosen as the host for one of the most awaited ceremonies in football after successfully hosting the star-studded award night in 2023 at the same venue in the city of Marrakech.
This award will be awarded by the African Football Federation across various categories to honour the best players, young players, goalkeepers, and coaches in both the men’s and women’s categories, as well as the best-performing national teams and clubs of the continent presented awards. However, the centrepiece of the event will again be the African Player of the Year Award 2024 to celebrate Africa’s best player and their phenomenal performance for both club and country.
The very first edition of the CAF Award was held in 1992, and Africa Player of the Year was handed to Abedi Pele of Ghana. Ever since then the highly coveted has been organised every year to recognize the remarkable efforts of the best player in Africa. In the last edition, the Nigerian star Victor Osimhen claimed the title of African Player of the Year 2023 following his unprecedented success in securing the historic Italian league title with Serie A club Napoli, finishing as the top scorer in Italy and he also led the Super Eagles to Africa Cup of Nations 2023 final.
African Player of the Year 2024: List of Finalists
Along with the ceremony date, CAF has also unveiled the list of finalists who will be competing for the award, the list of finalists includes the 10 best names who have been brilliant on the field for their respective teams. This list of contenders for the distinction includes some of the finest African talents playing among the top leagues in Europe, Asia and Africa. On the other hand, some of the biggest names have failed to mark their spot in the checklist of finalists.
The Atlas Lion’s duo of Ashraf Hakimi and Soufiane Rahimi have been nominated, as they were pivotal in Morocco securing a Bronze medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Rahimi bagged 8 goals in the tournament and led his club to lift the AFC Champions League and PSG full-back Hakimi was also excellent for the Ligue 1 giants.
Atlanta superstar Ademola Lookman whose scintillating performance helped the Italian club to secure a historic UEFA Europa League triumph, and William Troost Ekong are also nominated for the title. They both were a key part of Nigeria’s recent run when they reached the AFCON 2023 finale. Serhou Guirassy (Guinea) broke the goal-scoring charts in the Bundesliga during the 2023/2024 season finishing second behind Harry Kane in the top scorer list with 28 goals.
Another Bundesliga starlet Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso), was a vital cog in Xabi Alonso’s invincible Bayer Leverkusen’s title charge as they created history last season and reached the Europa League final as well. Simon Adingra the Cote d’Ivoire member of AFCON 2023 glory has also marked his entry on the list of contenders and Ronwen Williams (South Africa) is the only Goalkeeper on this imminent. At last, Amine Gouiri of Rennes Algeria) and Chancel Mbemba of Olympique Marseille (DR Congo) completes the listicle.
| S.No | Player | Country | Club |
| 1 | Achraf Hakimi | Morocco | Paris Saint-Germain |
| 2 | Serhou Guirassy | Guinea | Borussia Dortmund |
| 3 | Ademola Lookman | Nigeria | Atalanta |
| 4 | Edmond Tapsoba | Burkina Faso | Bayer Leverkusen |
| 5 | Amine Gouiri | Algeria | Rennes |
| 6 | Simon Adingra | Cote d’Ivoire | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| 7 | Chancel Mbemba | DR Congo | Olympique Marseille |
| 8 | Soufiane Rahimi | Morocco | Al Ain |
| 9 | William Troost Ekong | Nigeria | Al Kholood |
| 10 | Ronwen Williams | South Africa | Mamelodi Sundowns |
African Player of the Year Award Winners in History
Over the years, many African star players have lifted the African Player of the Year Award since its inception in 1992, Abedi Pele of Ghana became the first-ever winner of this prize to one of the best modern-day strikers Victor Osimhen of Nigeria claiming it most recently in 2023. The two former Barcelona icons and legends of African football Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon) and Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast) both have won the award the most number of times (4). Currently, the pair holds the joint record for the most CAF African Player of the Year awards in history.
Interestingly Premier League stars such as Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (Egypt), former Arsenal legend and greatest Nigerian of all time Nwankwo Kanu (Nigeria), Chelsea icon Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast) and former Liverpool winger Sadio Mané (Senegal) all have secured the title of Africa’s best player twice. Meanwhile, Ex-Man City star Riyad Mahrez (Algeria) and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon) both clinched the accolade once to etch history as they became the first player to win the continental award for their respective country.
Let’s take a glance at the list of all the winners of the African Player of the Year Award:
| S. No | Year | Winner | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2023 | Victor Osimhen | Nigeria |
| 2 | 2022 | Sadio Mané | Senegal |
| 3 | 2019 | Sadio Mané | Senegal |
| 4 | 2018 | Mohamed Salah | Egypt |
| 5 | 2017 | Mohamed Salah | Egypt |
| 6 | 2016 | Riyad Mahrez | Algeria |
| 7 | 2015 | Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | Gabon |
| 8 | 2014 | Yaya Touré | Ivory Coast |
| 9 | 2013 | Yaya Touré | Ivory Coast |
| 10 | 2012 | Yaya Touré | Ivory Coast |
| 11 | 2011 | Yaya Touré | Ivory Coast |
| 12 | 2010 | Samuel Eto’o | Cameroon |
| 13 | 2009 | Didier Drogba | Ivory Coast |
| 14 | 2008 | Emmanuel Adebayor | Togo |
| 15 | 2007 | Frédéric Kanouté | Mali |
| 16 | 2006 | Didier Drogba | Ivory Coast |
| 17 | 2005 | Samuel Eto’o | Cameroon |
| 18 | 2004 | Samuel Eto’o | Cameroon |
| 19 | 2003 | Samuel Eto’o | Cameroon |
| 20 | 2002 | El Hadji Diouf | Senegal |
| 21 | 2001 | El Hadji Diouf | Senegal |
| 22 | 2000 | Patrick M’Boma | Cameroon |
| 23 | 1999 | Nwankwo Kanu | Nigeria |
| 24 | 1998 | Mustapha Hadji | Morocco |
| 25 | 1997 | Victor Ikpeba | Nigeria |
| 26 | 1996 | Nwankwo Kanu | Nigeria |
| 27 | 1995 | George Weah | Liberia |
| 28 | 1994 | Emmanuel Amunike | Nigeria |
| 29 | 1993 | Rashidi Yekini | Nigeria |
| 30 | 1992 | Abedi Pele | Ghana |