Moroccans Achraf Hakimi, Nigerian Victor Osimhen and Egyptian Mohamed Salah were shortlisted on Sunday for the 2025 African Men’s Player of the Year award, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced.
The Moroccans Ghizlane Chebbak and Sanaa Mssoudy and the Nigerian Rasheedat Ajibade are the contenders for the title of African women’s player of the year.
Currently injured full-back Hakimi helped Paris Saint-Germain win the UEFA Champions League for the first time and finish second behind Chelsea in the final of the expanded Club World Cup.
If fit, the 27-year-old will lead hosts Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations from December 21 as they attempt to win the competition for the first time since 1976.
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Salah, a two-time African trophy winner, has struggled of late after making an outstanding contribution to Liverpool winning the Premier League for the 20th time last season.
The 33-year-old won the Premier League’s Golden Boot in 2024/25 with 29 goals, six more than Alexander Isak, who has since moved to Liverpool from Newcastle United.
Osimhen, from Turkish top team Galatasaray, has performed excellently for club and country of late, but some of his achievements will not count as the deadline for the judges was October 15.
That rules out a Champions League hat-trick against Ajax in Amsterdam and two goals in the 2026 World Cup play-off win over Gabon last Thursday.
Paris Saint-Germain star Ajibade was voted best player at this year’s Africa Women’s Cup of Nations after Nigeria came from two goals down to beat hosts Morocco 3-2 in the final.
Saudi Arabia-based Chebbak, the daughter of former Moroccan men’s star Larbi Chebbak, was the competition’s top scorer with five goals.
Another Moroccan striker, Mssoudy, has made Rabat club FAR one of the strongest in Africa. They won the CAF Women’s Champion League three years ago and reached the 2025 semi-finals this weekend.
The annual awards ceremony for African men and women will take place in the Moroccan capital Rabat on Wednesday.
Members of the CAF Technical and Development Committee, coaches, former stars and selected media representatives selected the nominees.
Published on November 17, 2025
