CAF Player of the Year 2026: All 10 Nominees

The CAF Awards 2026 Men's Player of the Year shortlist has ten names: Amad Diallo, Yoane Wissa, Antoine Semenyo, Ismael Saibari, Achraf Hakimi, Brahim Diaz, Ismaila Sarr, Pape Gueye, Sadio Mane and Teboho Mokoena. CAF announced the nominees on 3 November 2026, and the winner will be named at the ceremony in Lagos, Nigeria on Monday 7 December 2026. Morocco and Senegal each have three nominees, while Ghana, DR Congo, Ivory Coast and South Africa have one apiece. Nigeria, the host nation, has none.

Image: CAF

Below is what is actually documented about each nominee, why they made the list, and where the coverage runs thin. CAF published its own announcement on 4 November 2026 with a short line on most nominees, and we quote it where it says something specific. Where we add context from club seasons, we say whose figures they are.

The ten nominees at a glance

Achraf Hakimi (Morocco, Paris Saint-Germain)

Achraf Hakimi is the defending champion, and CAF says he "returns to defend the award he won in 2025 after another year at the highest level" with PSG and Morocco. He was named African Footballer of the Year at the 2025 CAF Awards in Rabat, and the 2026 shortlist coverage describes him as the holder seeking to retain the title. Africa Soccer credits his place to his performances for Paris Saint-Germain, who won the UEFA Champions League for the second time running.

His case rests on consistency at the very top of the club game. A right-back who reaches a Champions League final year after year, while also anchoring Morocco, is difficult to leave off any list. His detailed goal and assist numbers for 2025/26 differ between stats sites, so we have not quoted a total here.

Antoine Semenyo (Ghana, Manchester City)

Antoine Semenyo has the best-documented numbers on the list. Graphic Online reports that he scored 17 goals and provided four assists in 37 Premier League appearances for Bournemouth and Manchester City combined in 2025/26, and that he played in all four of Ghana's matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup as the Black Stars reached the Round of 32. He joined Manchester City from Bournemouth in January 2026.

Local reports also credit him with the winner in the FA Cup final against Chelsea, and he became the first Ghanaian named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year. He was also shortlisted for the Premier League Player of the Season award. If he wins in Lagos, he would be the first Ghanaian winner since Abedi Pele in 1992.

One caution: the same Graphic article also quotes 15 goals and eight assists in 42 appearances for calendar year 2026, and the two figures use different date ranges. Treat the exact totals as approximate.

Sadio Mane (Senegal, Al Nassr)

Sadio Mane is a two-time African Footballer of the Year, and Africa Soccer says he is nominated 'after another season representing Al Nassr'. Foot Africa reported that by March 2026 he had 10 goals and seven assists in 26 Saudi Pro League matches, so he was producing at a high rate well into the campaign. We could not find a verified final-season total.

Mane's case is reputation plus output. Voters know him, he has won the award before, and he is still scoring in a league that African players are increasingly choosing.

Ismaila Sarr (Senegal, Crystal Palace)

Crystal Palace's own website says Ismaila Sarr scored 21 goals in all competitions in 2025/26 and added two assists, a tally that ties the club's Premier League-era single-season scoring record. Premier League-only totals are lower and vary by source, from around seven to nine goals, so most of that haul came in cup and other competitions.

He was also part of Senegal's AFCON 2025 campaign and was named in their squad for the World Cup. That mix of a record-level club season and international involvement explains why he sits on a shortlist alongside two Senegal team-mates.

Pape Gueye (Senegal, Villarreal)

CAF describes Pape Gueye as "one of the outstanding performers" at AFCON Morocco 2025. At club level he was voted the best African player in La Liga for 2025/26. He scored five goals and set up two, according to FotMob (ESPN lists four goals), with his last goal arriving on the final day against Atletico Madrid. Villarreal finished third with 72 points.

For a midfielder, those numbers matter less than the role. Gueye was a key part of a Villarreal side that finished third, and he was central to Senegal's AFCON final run. Reports say he scored the goal that decided that match on the pitch, though the result was later overturned (see below).

Teboho Mokoena (South Africa, Mamelodi Sundowns)

Teboho Mokoena is the only nominee who plays his club football in Africa, as Kawowo pointed out. He is also on CAF's separate Interclub Player of the Year shortlist, and Africa Soccer's coverage of the 2026 nominations leads with Mamelodi Sundowns' Champions League triumph.

His league numbers are modest. A FotMob snapshot from late May 2026 shows four Premiership goals and two assists in 1,618 minutes with an average rating of 7.29. His claim is the controlling midfield role in a side that won on the continental stage, not the box score. CAF's announcement adds that he scored a crucial goal in the second leg of the final against AS FAR, helping Sundowns secure their second continental title.

Ismael Saibari (Morocco, Bayern Munich)

CAF's announcement says Brahim Diaz and Ismael Saibari "feature prominently after helping their country reach the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals for a second successive tournament". That is the stated case for Saibari: a central part of a Morocco side that went deep at the World Cup again.

The club evidence points the same way. Saibari scored a hat-trick for PSV in a win over Feyenoord in October 2025, and analytics sites show him among the Eredivisie's top scorers for the season before his move to Bayern Munich. Because stats sites snapshot at different dates, we have not quoted a final goal tally.

Brahim Diaz (Morocco, Real Madrid)

Brahim Diaz is named by CAF in the same line as Saibari, for helping Morocco reach the World Cup quarter-finals for a second successive tournament. CAF also lists him among the established internationals on the shortlist.

His Real Madrid numbers are quieter. Several stats snapshots show no La Liga goals and around five assists, and his first goal of the campaign came in the Champions League against Kairat Almaty. One report says he missed a penalty in the AFCON final. His claim is international rather than club-based, and it is the weakest numerically of the ten.

Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast, Manchester United)

CAF says Amad Diallo "has established himself as an influential attacking player" for Ivory Coast and at Manchester United. The evidence is mostly on the international side. The People's Person reports that he scored three goals at AFCON 2025, against Mozambique, Cameroon and Burkina Faso, and two more at the 2026 World Cup, against Ecuador and Norway. That is five goals for his country in a single year.

At Manchester United the numbers are modest. The same report puts his previous season at 33 games, two goals and four assists, with Premier League totals elsewhere given as two goals and three assists. The context matters, though. Amad moved from a right wing-back role under Ruben Amorim to a more attacking role under Michael Carrick, and the nomination rewards a winger who produced when the stage was biggest.

Yoane Wissa (DR Congo, Newcastle United)

Yoane Wissa joined Newcastle from Brentford in September 2025 after scoring 19 Premier League goals in his last Brentford season. Injuries limited him at Newcastle, and one outlet reports three league goals in 19 appearances. The same outlet credits him with three goals at the 2026 World Cup for DR Congo, though we could only find that in one place, so treat it as unconfirmed.

If the World Cup figure holds, it would explain a nomination built on international form rather than club numbers.

The AFCON 2025 controversy hanging over the shortlist

Three Moroccans and three Senegalese on one shortlist is not a coincidence. The AFCON 2025 final was played in Rabat on 18 January 2026. After Morocco were awarded a late penalty, Senegal's players walked off in protest. On 17 March 2026, the CAF Appeal Board ruled that Senegal had forfeited, recorded the final as a 3-0 win for Morocco and declared Morocco champions. Senegal's federation said it would challenge the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and we did not find a reported outcome.

Reports differ on exactly how the match ended on the pitch, so we have avoided giving a scoreline. What matters here is that both sets of nominees come out of a final that is still being argued over, and that voters may weigh it very differently.

Who is missing

Victor Osimhen and every other Nigerian player is absent, which is notable with the ceremony being held in Lagos. Mohamed Salah is not among the ten either.

What the shortlist tells us about the race

• Hakimi is the clear reference point as holder and as a Champions League winner.
• Semenyo has the strongest verifiable numbers and an FA Cup final goal, plus a long Ghanaian drought to end.
• Mane, Sarr and Gueye split the Senegal vote, which helps the rest of the field.
• Mokoena is the only Africa-based player and the clearest representative of the domestic game.

We are not publishing odds, because we could not verify any priced market for this award. If bookmakers open one, compare prices before placing anything, and remember that award markets can be thin.

FAQ

When are the CAF Awards 2026?

The ceremony takes place on Monday 7 December 2026 in Lagos, Nigeria. The shortlists were announced on 3 November 2026.

Who are the nominees for CAF Men's Player of the Year 2026?

The ten nominees are Amad Diallo, Yoane Wissa, Antoine Semenyo, Ismael Saibari, Achraf Hakimi, Brahim Diaz, Ismaila Sarr, Pape Gueye, Sadio Mane and Teboho Mokoena.

Who won the previous CAF Men's Player of the Year award?

Achraf Hakimi of Morocco and Paris Saint-Germain won the 2025 award at the ceremony in Rabat and is the defending champion.

Is any Nigerian player nominated for CAF Player of the Year 2026?

No. Victor Osimhen and all other Nigerian players were left off the shortlist, even though Lagos hosts the ceremony.

When did Ghana last win the CAF Player of the Year award?

Abedi Pele was the last Ghanaian winner, in 1992. Antoine Semenyo is trying to end that wait.

How is the CAF Player of the Year chosen?

Coverage describes the award as recognising the African footballer with the biggest impact, weighing club performances, international performances, individual statistics and overall contribution. The articles we read do not say who votes or how votes are weighted.

Figures in this article come from news reports and stats sites that sometimes disagree. Where they did, we have said so. 18+ | Bet Responsibly | BeGambleAware | T&Cs Apply