Mohamed Salah misses CAF African Player of the Year shortlist for first time since 2015

Mohamed Salah has been left out of the nominees for the 2026 CAF African Player of the Year award, ending a run that began in 2016.

The Egypt captain and Trabzonspor forward had been shortlisted every year from 2016 through to last year, but his name was absent when the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced the 10-player list.

Salah, 34, has won the award twice, in 2017 and 2018. This is the first time he has not been included among the candidates since 2015.

The nominees for the 2026 award are:

– Amad Diallo – Manchester United – Ivory Coast – Yoane Wissa – Newcastle United – DR Congo – Antoine Semenyo – Manchester City – Ghana – Ismaila Saibari – Bayern Munich – Morocco – Achraf Hakimi – Paris Saint-Germain – Morocco – Brahim Diaz – Real Madrid – Morocco – Ismaila Sarr – Crystal Palace – Senegal – Pape Gueye – Villarreal – Senegal – Sadio Mane – Al-Nassr – Senegal – Teboho Mokoena – Mamelodi Sundowns – South Africa

The CAF awards will also feature several other nominations involving Egyptian clubs and players.

Zamalek are in contention for the African Club of the Year prize, while Egypt and Barcelona forward Hamza Abdelkarim has been nominated for the Young Player of the Year award.

Egypt are also candidates for the National Team of the Year award. Their head coach, حسام حسن, and Zamalek manager Moataz Gamal are both nominated for Coach of the Year.

Al Ahly midfielder Mahmoud Hassan “Trezeguet”, who previously played for the club and now represents Al-Riyadh, is among the candidates for the Best Player Based in Africa award. Zamalek player Mohamed Shehata is also nominated in that category.

The Best Goalkeeper award includes Al Ahly goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir and Zamalek goalkeeper El Mahdy Soliman.