Achraf Hakimi, Victor Osimhen and Mohamed Salah will contest the 2025 African Men’s Player of the Year award after the Confederation of African Football unveiled its three-man shortlist on Sunday.
The women’s category also carries a strong North African–West African split, with Morocco’s Ghizlane Chebbak and Sanaa Mssoudy joined by Nigeria’s Rasheedat Ajibade.
Hakimi may currently be injured, but his year remains unmistakable. The Paris Saint-Germain full-back helped the club lift their first UEFA Champions League title and reach the final of the expanded Club World Cup.
If he regains fitness, he will captain hosts Morocco at the Africa Cup of Nations, where they hope to end a wait stretching back to 1976.
Salah, a two-time winner of the award, has endured a recent dip in form but his contribution to Liverpool’s record-equalling 20th Premier League crown still stands tall.
The Egyptian claimed the 2024/25 Premier League Golden Boot with 29 goals, finishing comfortably ahead of Alexander Isak.
Osimhen, now starring for Galatasaray, has been in blistering form for club and country.
However, some of his finest recent outings fall outside CAF’s October 15 judging window, meaning his Champions League hat-trick in Amsterdam and his brace against Gabon in last week’s World Cup playoff will not be considered.
In the women’s race, Ajibade leads the conversation after being named best player at the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations, where Nigeria overturned a two-goal deficit to beat Morocco 3-2 in the final.
Chebbak finished that tournament as top scorer with five goals, while Mssoudy’s consistency has been central to FAR Rabat’s rise as a continental force.
Rabat will host the annual awards ceremony on Wednesday, with nominees selected by CAF’s technical and development committees, alongside coaches, former stars and chosen media voices.
