Hakimi, Mané, Semenyo and Brahim Díaz headline CAF awards 2026 men’s nominees

African football’s biggest stars will compete for continental recognition after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) unveiled the nominees for the men’s categories of the CAF Awards 2026, with reigning African Player of the Year Achraf Hakimi leading a star-studded list.

Former winners Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah’s generation of African stars, alongside Ghanaian forward Antoine Semenyo, Moroccan international Brahim Díaz and Ivorian winger Amad Diallo, headline the nominations announced on Wednesday, November 4.

The awards ceremony is scheduled for December 7, 2026, in Lagos, Nigeria, where outstanding performers from African and international football will be recognised for their achievements during the year.

Hakimi, who claimed the 2025 Men’s Player of the Year award following his impressive performances for Paris Saint-Germain and Morocco, faces competition from nine other nominees.

They include Senegalese trio Mané, Ismaila Sarr and Pape Gueye, Morocco’s Díaz and Ismael Saibari, Ghana’s Semenyo, DR Congo’s Yoane Wissa, Côte d’Ivoire’s Diallo and South Africa’s Teboho Mokoena.

The seven men’s categories comprise 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, each featuring ten nominees.

South Africa’s Ronwen Williams, Morocco’s Yassine Bounou and Senegal’s Edouard Mendy are among the goalkeeping contenders, while Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso, Morocco’s Walid Regragui and Senegal’s Pape Thiaw feature in the coaching category.

The Young Player of the Year shortlist includes Ghana’s Caleb Yirenkyi, Algeria’s Ibrahim Maza, Cameroon’s Christian Kofane and Senegal’s Ibrahim Mbaye.

Morocco, Senegal and South Africa are among the countries strongly represented across the different categories following notable performances in continental and international competitions.

The African Player of the Year honour has a history dating back to 1970, when France Football introduced its African Footballer of the Year award.

CAF officially took responsibility for the continental award in 1992, with Ghanaian legend Abedi Pelé becoming its first winner.

Since then, several legendary players have dominated the honour.

Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o and Côte d’Ivoire’s Yaya Touré hold the joint record of four victories each.

Touré achieved the remarkable feat of winning it consecutively from 2011 to 2014.

Other multiple winners include Nigeria’s Nwankwo Kanu, Senegal’s El-Hadji Diouf and Sadio Mané, Côte d’Ivoire’s Didier Drogba and Egypt’s Mohamed Salah.

Men’s Player of the Year winners (1992–2025)

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