Salah, Hakimi headline shortlist for CAF African Footballer of the Year

October 23 – Paris Saint-Germain’s Achraf Hakimi and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah head the shortlist for the 2025 CAF African Footballer of the Year award, as two of the award’s familiar faces go head-to-head once more.

Whilst the shortlist includes a strong lineup of African talent, it is Hakimi and Salah that really stand out as main contenders.

Moroccan international Hakimi was a core part of the PSG side that dominated Europe, picking up just about every trophy in the process except the Club World Cup, which they lost to Chelsea in the final.

Salah, meanwhile, claimed the English Premier League Golden Boot and Player of the Season award after guiding Liverpool to the league title for the first time in five years. Since then, the Egyptian has endured a tricky start to the current campaign and has been far from his clinical best, which may open the door to Hakimi to swoop in for the award.

The ten-man list also includes Galatasaray’s Victor Osimhen, who won the award in 2023, along with Senegal pair Iliman Ndiaye and Pape Matar Sarr – both key figures in their nation’s qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Completing the shortlist are Napoli’s title-winner André-Frank Zambo Anguissa (Cameroon), Fiston Mayele (DR Congo), Denis Bouanga (Gabon), Oussama Lamlioui (Morocco), and Serhou Guirassy (Guinea) – the latter of which picked up the UEFA Champions League golden boot with 13 goals for Borussia Dortmund.

Only two nominees – Mayele of Pyramids FC and Lamlioui of RS Berkane – play their club football in Africa.

Salah, who won back-to-back awards in 2017 and 2018, is seeking his third title, while Hakimi has finished runner-up in the past two editions and is better poised than ever to finally land the award.

The nominations were decided by a Confederation of African Football (CAF) panel assessing player performances between January and October 2025, across both club and international competitions.

In the coaching category, Cape Verde’s Bubista is among ten nominees after leading the Blue Sharks to a first-ever World Cup qualification. Cape Verde are also shortlisted for National Team of the Year, alongside Morocco and its U20 side, who won the World Cup last weekend with a 2-0 win over Argentina in Chile.

Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1761222393labto1761222393ofdlr1761222393owedi1761222393sni@g1761222393niwe.1761222393yrrah1761222393