CAF PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Osimhen, Salah, Hakimi Make Final Three Shortlist

Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen, Egypt’s Mohamed Salah and Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi have been confirmed as the final contenders for the prestigious 2025 CAF Player of the Year award, with the winner to be announced on Wednesday in Rabat.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) revealed the three-man shortlist on Sunday, narrowing the field to some of the continent’s biggest stars. The ceremony is scheduled for November 19 in the Moroccan capital.

Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen, who claimed the 2023 African Player of the Year title is also in contention after a strong season that reaffirmed his status as one of Africa’s most lethal forwards for both country and club. He led Turkish giants, Galatasaray, to win league and cup double and has been pivotal to the team’s great showing in the UEFA Champions League this season.

Hakimi, captain of the Atlas Lions and a key figure for Paris Saint-Germain, enters the final vote as the favourite after a remarkable season in which he helped PSG secure a historic quadruple—winning Ligue 1, the UEFA Champions League, the French Cup and the Champions Trophy. His performances also earned him a 6th-place finish in the global France Football Ballon d’Or rankings.

Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah, a two-time winner of the award in 2017 and 2018, returns to the final shortlist following another influential year for club and country.

The winner of the 2025 African Footballer of the Year—often referred to as the African Ballon d’Or—will be crowned during Wednesday’s ceremony, which will also honour standout performers across multiple categories in African football.