Afrigather 
The Confederation of African Soccer (CAF) has unveiled the 30-man shortlist for the 2023 African Participant of the Yr awards with Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen, a distinguished identify featured, Soccernet.ng experiences.
Osimhen will likely be one the favourites alongside Liverpool and Egypt ahead Mohamed Salah, Arsenal and Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey, and PSG and Morocco defender Achraf Hakimi to select up the continent’s finest participant award throughout a prestigious Gala night time scheduled for December 11, 2023, in Marrakech, Morocco.
Osimhen, along with his outstanding achievements, stands out as a high contender for the coveted title.
His instrumental position in securing Napoli’s third Scudetto triumph and main them to a historic quarterfinal look within the UEFA Champions League has propelled the 24-year-old striker into the highlight.
Furthermore, his commendable Eighth-place end within the Ballon d’Or race has elevated his standing amongst different African soccer stars in 2023.
Ought to Osimhen clinch the distinguished CAF Participant of the Yr title, he would observe within the footsteps of Nigerian greats reminiscent of Nwankwo Kanu, Rashidi Yekini, Emmanuel Amunike, and Victor Ikpeba, who’ve beforehand claimed this esteemed accolade.
Curiously, Osimhen might grow to be the primary Nigerian to win the award since Kanu was named the perfect participant in 1999 – ending a 24-year anticipate the three-time African champions.
The final CAF Awards Gala in July 2022 in Rabat, Morocco, noticed Sadio Mane of Senegal and Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala emerge because the African Participant of the Yr and African Girls’s Participant of the Yr, respectively.
Full Record of Nominees (in alphabetic order by Member Affiliation):
Participant of the Yr (Males)
1. Ramy Bensebaini (Algeria and Borussia Dortmund)
2. Riyad Mahrez (Algeria and Al Ahli)
3. Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso and Bayer Leverkusen)
4. Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa (Cameroon and SSC Napoli)
5. Vincent Aboubacar (Cameroon and Besiktas)
6. Ibrahima Sangare (Cote d’Ivoire and Nottingham Forest)
7. Seko Fofana (Cote d’Ivoire and Al Nassr)
8. Chancel Mbemba (DR Congo and Olympique Marseille)
9. Fiston Mayele (DR Congo and Pyramids)
10. Mahmoud Abdel Moneim “Kahraba” (Egypt and Ahly)
11. Mohamed Abdelmonem (Egypt and Al Ahly)
12. Mohamed ElShenawy (Egypt and Al Ahly)
13. Mohamed Salah (Egypt and Liverpool)
14. Mohammed Kudus (Ghana and West Ham United)
15. Thomas Partey (Ghana and Arsenal)
16. Serhou Guirassy (Guinea and VfB Stuttgart)
17. Yves Bissouma (Mali and Tottenham Hotspur)
18. Achraf Hakimi (Morocco and Paris Saint-Germain)
19. Azzedine Ounahi (Morocco and Olympique Marseille)
20. Hakim Ziyech (Morocco and Galatasaray)
21. Sofyan Amrabat (Morocco and Manchester United)
22. Yahya Jabrane (Morocco and Wydad Athletic Membership)
23. Yassine Bounou (Morocco and Al Hilal)
24. Youssef En-Nesyri (Morocco and Sevilla)
25. Peter Shalulile (Namibia and Mamelodi Sundowns)
26. Victor Osimhen (Nigeria and SSC Napoli)
27. Sadio Mane (Senegal and Al Nassr)
28. Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal and Tottenham Hotspur)
29. Percy Tau (South Africa and Al Ahly)
30. Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane (Tunisia and Ferencvaros)
