African Footballer of the Year: Debate after Boniface and Salah left off shortlist

Form at the 2023 Nations Cup finals certainly appears to have been a major factor in Caf’s shortlists.

Brighton forward Simon Adingra, who set up both goals in the final for winners Ivory Coast, is named on the player of the year list alongside Nigeria centre-back William Troost-Ekong and South Africa goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, who both had impressive tournaments.

Soufiane Rahimi was nominated after scoring eight goals in Morocco’s bronze-medal winning campaign at the Paris 2024 Olympics, with Atlas Lions team-mate Achraf Hakimi also included.

Ivory Coast lead the nominations in the national team category and Elephants manager Emerse Fae is in the running for coach of the year after masterminding their fairytale Nations Cup triumph on home soil.

Elsewhere, Brighton pair Carlos Baleba and Yankuba Minteh are shortlisted for young player of the year alongside Leicester City midfielder Bilal El Khannouss.

The nominees for the women’s categories are yet to be announced by Caf, with the awards ceremony to be held in Marrakesh, Morocco, on 16 December.