By Mabeline Amara and Gift Ishaq
Iconic Super Eagles player, Victor Osimhen, has received further recognition in his professional football career as he and two other Nigerians, Stanley Nwabali and Daniel Bameyi are amongst professional players selected in three different categories of the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) Awards List.
The CAF has also unveiled the nominees in the men’s categories for the CAF Awards 2025, celebrating the continent’s top performers among players, coaches, clubs, and national teams.
The awards recognise the impact of players and coaches on African and global football during the period from January 6 to October 15, 2025. The nominations highlight those who have made major contributions to the sport across the continent.
The award celebrates the continent’s top performers among players, coaches, clubs and national teams.
According to CAF in a statement, “The impact of players and coaches on the African and global game has been immense for the period under consideration of 6 January to 15 October 2025, and these nominations reflect those who have made major contributions to football on the continent.”
CAF further disclosed that a panel of experts, including members of the CAF Technical & Development Committee, experienced coaches, CAF Legends, and selected media representatives, selected 10 nominees for each category, considering performances across all competitions.
Unlike in previous years when Nigerian players dominated most of the categories, only Osimhen was listed amongst the 10 African players shortlisted for the Player of the Year category the Super Eagles striker won in 2023.
In the 2025 CAF Award List , Ademola Lookman who won the 2024 Award was overlooked this time around as Cameroon’s Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa and Egypt’s Mohamed Salah headline the nominees for the 2025.
Others include; Fiston Mayele (DRCongo/Pyramids); Denis Bouanga (Gabon/Los Angeles FC); Serhou Guirassy (Guinea/Borussia Dortmund); Achraf Hakimi (Morocco/Paris Saint-Germain); Oussama Lamlioui (Morocco/RS Berkane); Iliman Ndiaye (Senegal/Everton) and Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal/Tottenham Hotspur).
Stanley Nwabali, Nigeria’s standout performer at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, earned a deserved spot among the 10 nominees for Goalkeeper of the Year, following a series of impressive international and club performances for Chippa United in South Africa.
Flying Eagles Captain, Daniel Bameyi, was nominated among the Young Player of the Year contenders. The 18-year-old defender, now plying his trade with NK Primorje in Slovenia, continues to gain attention for his leadership and maturity at youth international level.
Here is the full list:
MEN’S PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Nominees:
- Andre Frank Zambo-Anguissa (Cameroon/Napoli)
- Fiston Mayele (DR Congo/Pyramids)
- Mohamed Salah (Egypt/Liverpool)
- Denis Bouanga (Gabon/Los Angeles FC)
- Serhou Guirassy (Guinea/Borussia Dortmund)
- Achraf Hakimi (Morocco/Paris Saint-Germain)
- Oussama Lamlioui (Morocco/RS Berkane)
- Victor Osimhen (Nigeria/Galatasaray)
- Iliman Ndiaye (Senegal/Everton)
- Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal/Tottenham Hotspur)
MEN’S GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR
Nominees:
- Andre Onana (Cameroon/Trabzonspor)
- Vozinha (Cape Verde/Chaves)
- Ahmed El Shenawy (Egypt/Pyramids)
- Munir Mohamedi (Morocco/RS Berkane)
- Yassine Bonou (Morocco/Al Hilal)
- Stanley Nwabali (Nigeria/Chippa United)
- Edouard Mendy (Senegal/Al Ahli)
- Marc Diouf (Senegal/Tengueth)
- Ronwen Williams (South Africa/Mamelodi Sundowns)
- Aymen Dahmen (Tunisia/CS Sfaxien)
MEN’S INTERCLUB PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Nominees:
- Ismael Belkacemi (Algeria/Al Ahli Tripoli)
- Blati Toure (Burkina Faso/Pyramids FC)
- Issoufou Dayo (Burkina Faso/RS Berkane)
- Fiston Mayele (DR Congo/Pyramids)
- Ahmed Samy (Egypt/Pyramids)
- Emam Ashour (Egypt/Al Ahly)
- Ibrahim Adel (Egypt/Pyramids)
- Mohamed Hrimat (Morocco/AS FAR)
- Mohamed Chibi (Morocco/Pyramids)
- Oussama Lamlioui (Morocco/RS Berkane)
- Shomari Kapombe (Tanzania/Simba)
MEN’S COACH OF THE YEAR
Nominees:
- Bubista (Cape Verde)
- Hossam Hassan (Egypt)
- Krunoslav Jurcic (Pyramids)
- Sami Trabelsi (Tunisia)
- Romuald Rakotondrabe (Madagascar CHAN)
- Moine Chaabani (RS Berkane)
- Tarik Sektioui (Morocco CHAN)
- Mohamed Ouahbi (Morocco U-20)
- Walid Regragui (Morocco)
- Pape Thiaw (Senegal)
MEN’S YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Nominees:
- Asharaf Tapsoba (Burkina Faso/Real du Faso)
- Alynho Haidara (Cote d’Ivoire/ Mainz 05 Jacqueville)
- Noah Sadiki (DR Congo/Sunderland)
- Abdellah Ouazane (Morocco/Ajax)
- Houssam Essadak (Morocco/US Touarga)
- Othmane Maamma (Morocco/Watford)
- Daniel Bameyi (Nigeria/Primorje)
- Momoh Kamara (Sierra Leone/Minnesota United)
- Mbekezeli Mbokazi (South Africa/Orlando Pirates)
- Tylon Smith (South Africa/Queens Park Rangers)
MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM OF THE YEAR
Nominees:
- Algeria
- Cape Verde
- Cote d’Ivoire
- Egypt
- Ghana
- Morocco U-20
- Morocco
- Senegal
- South Africa
- Tunisia
MEN’S CLUB OF THE YEAR
Nominees:
- CR Belouizdad (Algeria)
- CS Constantine (Algeria)
- ASEC Mimosas (Cote d’Ivoire)
- Pyramids (Egypt)
- RS Berkane (Morocco)
- Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)
- Orlando Pirates (South Africa)
- Stellenbosch (South Africa)
- Al Hilal (Sudan)
- Simba (Tanzania)
