Nigerian football sensations Victor Osimhen and Asisat Oshoala emerged as the African Men’s and Women’s Players of the Year at the prestigious CAF Awards 2023 in Marrakech, Morocco, on December 11, 2023.
Osimhen secured his first CAF African Player of the Year award, triumphing over strong contenders Achraf Hakimi and Mohammed Salah. Meanwhile, Oshoala, an iconic figure in Nigerian football, clinched an unprecedented sixth win for CAF African Women’s Player of the Year, a testament to her consistent excellence. Oshoala, a pivotal player for Barcelona, led the team to Champions League victory, finishing as the top scorer with 27 goals across all competitions.
In the coaching category, Morocco’s Walid Regragui claimed the title of CAF’s Best Coach of the Year in the Men’s category, recognized for guiding the Atlas Lions to a historic World Cup semi-final run in Qatar. On the women’s side, South Africa’s Desiree Ellis received the Best Coach award for her remarkable work with Banyana Banyana, marking her fourth consecutive win in this category since 2018.
Percy Tau from South Africa’s Al Ahly and Fatima Tagnaout from Morocco’s AS FAR were named CAF InterClub Players of the Year in the Men’s and Women’s categories, respectively.
Outstanding goalkeepers were recognized, with Yassine Bounou from Morocco’s Al Hilal named Goalkeeper of the Year (Men) and Chiamaka Nnadozie from Nigeria’s Paris FC securing the Goalkeeper of the Year (Women) title.
Young talents were celebrated with Lamine Camara from Senegal and Nesryne El Chad from Morocco winning the CAF Young Player of the Year awards in the Men’s and Women’s categories, respectively.
National Teams of the Year were awarded to Morocco (Men) and Nigeria (Women). Club of the Year titles went to Egyptian giants Al Ahly (Men) and South African side Mamelodi Sundowns (Women).
South Africa dominated the Best XI players in the Women’s Category, while two members of Morocco’s World Cup semi-final team earned spots in the Male version.
The winners were determined through a voting process involving a panel comprising CAF Technical Committee members, Head Coaches, National Team captains, and media professionals.