Izuchukwu Okosi
Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen tops the list of 30 players unveiled by The Confederation of African Football (CAF) for the 2023 Africa Footballer Of The Year Award ceremony to hold at a Gala night 11 December, 2023 in Marrakech, Morocco, reports Prime Business Africa.
Other illustrious names on the list include Liverpool and Egypt forward Mohamed Salah, Arsenal and Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey, and PSG and Morocco defender Achraf Hakimi.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelOsimhen was SS Napoli’s key player as he emerged too scorer in the Serie A last season which helles the soe win its first title in 30 years.
The Nigerian also finished 8th on the Ballon D’Or rankings, becoming the highest ranked Nigerian on the awards, bettering Kanu’s 11th place finish in 1996.
Osimhen will aim to join the elite lost of Nigerian players to have won the prize including Nwankwo Kanu (twice), Rashidi Yekini, Emmanuel Amunike, and Victor Ikpeba.
Kanu was the last Nigerian player named the best player in 1999 – three years after he won it.
Full List of Nominees (in alphabetic order by Member Association): Player of the Year (Men)
1. Ramy Bensebaini (Algeria and Borussia Dortmund)
2. Riyad Mahrez (Algeria and Al Ahli)
3. Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso and Bayer Leverkusen)
4. Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa (Cameroon and SSC Napoli)
5. Vincent Aboubacar (Cameroon and Besiktas)
6. Ibrahima Sangare (Cote d’Ivoire and Nottingham Forest)
7. Seko Fofana (Cote d’Ivoire and Al Nassr)
8. Chancel Mbemba (DR Congo and Olympique Marseille)
9. Fiston Mayele (DR Congo and Pyramids)
10. Mahmoud Abdel Moneim “Kahraba” (Egypt and Ahly)
11. Mohamed Abdelmonem (Egypt and Al Ahly)
12. Mohamed ElShenawy (Egypt and Al Ahly)
13. Mohamed Salah (Egypt and Liverpool)
14. Mohammed Kudus (Ghana and West Ham United)
15. Thomas Partey (Ghana and Arsenal)
16. Serhou Guirassy (Guinea and VfB Stuttgart)
17. Yves Bissouma (Mali and Tottenham Hotspur)
18. Achraf Hakimi (Morocco and Paris Saint-Germain)
19. Azzedine Ounahi (Morocco and Olympique Marseille)
20. Hakim Ziyech (Morocco and Galatasaray)
21. Sofyan Amrabat (Morocco and Manchester United)
22. Yahya Jabrane (Morocco and Wydad Athletic Club)
23. Yassine Bounou (Morocco and Al Hilal)
24. Youssef En-Nesyri (Morocco and Sevilla)
25. Peter Shalulile (Namibia and Mamelodi Sundowns)
26. Victor Osimhen (Nigeria and SSC Napoli)
27. Sadio Mane (Senegal and Al Nassr)
28. Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal and Tottenham Hotspur)
29. Percy Tau (South Africa and Al Ahly)
30. Moham ed Ali Ben Romdhane (Tunisia and Ferencvaros)
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
