CAF Awards 2026: Morocco lead nominations ahead of Egypt and Senegal

Morocco are the best-represented nation among the nominees for the CAF Awards 2026, with 16 nominations across the major individual, club and national categories.

The North African country accounts for almost a quarter of all nominations, while five nations share 45 of the 70 places announced by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Wednesday.

The awards include the Player of the Year prize, commonly known as the African Ballon d’Or, as well as the Interclub Player of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year, Coach of the Year, Young Player of the Year, Club of the Year and National Team of the Year categories.

Morocco have three nominees for Player of the Year – Ismael Saibari, Achraf Hakimi and Brahim Diaz – and three for Interclub Player of the Year: Mohamed Rabie Hrimat, Mounir Chouiar and Sofiane El Moudane.

They also have three clubs nominated for Club of the Year, with AS FAR, OC Safi and RS Berkane included.

Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti and Yassine Bounou are in contention for Goalkeeper of the Year, while Mohamed Ouahbi and Walid Regragui are nominated for Coach of the Year. Abdellah Ouazane and Ayyoub Bouaddi provide two Moroccan candidates for Young Player of the Year, while the Morocco national team is also nominated for National Team of the Year.

Egypt are the second most represented nation, with nine nominees – almost half Morocco’s total.

El-Mahdi Soliman and Mostafa Shobeir are nominated for Goalkeeper of the Year, while Mahmoud Hassan “Trezeguet” and Mohamed Shehata are contenders for Interclub Player of the Year.

Hossam Hassan, who was dismissed as Egypt manager on Saturday because of marital problems, and Moatamed Gamal are nominated for Coach of the Year. Hamza Abdelkarim is on the Young Player of the Year shortlist and Zamalek are nominated for Club of the Year. Egypt’s national team is also included.

Senegal complete the top three with eight nominations. Ismaila Sarr, Pape Gueye and Sadio Mane are candidates for Player of the Year, with Edouard Mendy nominated for Goalkeeper of the Year.

Lamine N’Diaye and Pape Thiaw are in the running for Coach of the Year, while Ibrahim Mbaye is nominated for Young Player of the Year. Senegal also feature in the National Team of the Year category.

Algeria and Cote d’Ivoire make up the rest of the top five, with seven and five nominees respectively.

Algeria’s candidates are Oussama Benbot for Goalkeeper of the Year; Abdennour Belhocini and Ahmed Khaldi for Interclub Player of the Year; and Ibrahim Maza for Young Player of the Year. The Algeria national team, CR Belouizdad and USM Alger are also nominated.

Cote d’Ivoire’s nominees are Amad Diallo for Player of the Year, Yahia Fofana for Goalkeeper of the Year, and Christ Inao Oulai and Yan Diomande for Young Player of the Year. The Ivorian national team is also shortlisted.

The winners will be announced on 7 December in Lagos, Nigeria.