Victor Osimhen and Asisat Oshoala win top honors at the 2023 CAF Awards (FULL LIST)
Nigerian football stars Victor Osimhen and Asisat Oshoala were named African Men’s and Women’s Players of the Year, respectively, at the prestigious CAF Awards 2023, held on Monday night, December 11, 2023, in Marrakech, Morocco.
Osimhen, the prolific Nigerian striker, won the CAF African Player of the Year title for the first time, defeating strong candidates Moroccan full-back Achraf Hakimi and Egyptian attacker Mohammed Salah.
Meanwhile, Oshoala, the legendary Nigerian footballer, won a historic sixth CAF African Women’s Player of the Year award, demonstrating her persistent excellence. Oshoala, a vital player for Barcelona, guided the squad to Champions League glory, finishing as the leading scorer in all competitions with 27 goals.
In the coaching category, Morocco’s Walid Regragui was named CAF’s Best Coach of the Year in the Men’s category, after leading the Atlas Lions to a historic World Cup semi-final run in Qatar. On the women’s side, Desiree Ellis of South Africa was named Best Coach for her outstanding performance with Banyana Banyana, earning her fourth consecutive win in this category since 2018.
Percy Tau of South Africa, representing Al Ahly, was named CAF InterClub Player of the Year in the Men’s category. Fatima Tagnaout of Morocco’s AS FAR was named InterClub Player of the Year in the Women’s category.
Individual awards were also given out to excellent goalkeepers, with Yassine Bounou of Morocco’s Al Hilal winning Goalkeeper of the Year (Men) and Chiamaka Nnadozie of Nigeria’s Paris FC won Goalkeeper of the Year (Women).
Senegal’s Lamine Camara, a 19-year-old forward from FC Metz, was named CAF Young Player of the Year (Men), while Morocco’s Nesryne El Chad was named CAF Women’s Young Player of the Year for the first time.
Morocco (Men) and Nigeria (Women) were named National Teams of the Year. Egyptian powerhouse Al Ahly (Men) and South African side Mamelodi Sundowns (Women) were named Club of the Year.
South Africa dominated the Best XI players in the Women’s Category, but two Moroccans from the World Cup semi-finals made the Male version.
The winners were chosen by a voting panel comprised of CAF Technical Committee members, Head Coaches, National Team Captains, and media professionals.
Full List of Award Winners:
Player of the Year (Men): Victor Osimhen (Nigeria, Napoli)
Player of the Year (Women): Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria, Barcelona)
Interclub Player of the Year (Men): Percy Tau (South Africa, Al Ahly)
Interclub Player of the Year (Women): Fatima Tagnaout (Morocco, AS FAR)
Coach of the Year (Men): Walid Regragui (Morocco)
Coach of the Year (Women): Desiree Ellis (South Africa)
Goalkeeper of the Year (Men): Yassine Bounou (Morocco, Al Hilal)
Goalkeeper of the Year (Women): Chiamaka Nnadozie (Nigeria, Paris FC)
Young Player of the Year (Men): Lamine Camara (Senegal, Metz)
Young Player of the Year (Women): Nesryne El Chad (Morocco, Lille)
National Team of the Year (Men): Morocco
National Team of the Year (Women): Nigeria
Club of the Year (Men): Al Ahly (Egypt)
Club of the Year (Women): Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)