With so little to choose in the voting between the remaining nominees in the race for the coveted Men’s Player of the Year at the 2024 CAF Awards, organisers have kept intact the full list of five names ahead of the ceremony in Marrakech, Morocco on Monday.
It adds to the suspense on the evening in what has been one of the most closely fought contests in the history of the Award, with five outstanding candidates hoping to write their names into the rich history of football on the continent.
The 2024 CAF Awards ceremony takes place at the Palais des Congrès and will kick off at 19h00 local time (18h00 GMT/ 20h00 Cairo time/ 21h00 East African time).
Here is a reminder of the players that are still in the running for the Men’s Player of the Year prize, in alphabetical order of their Member Association.
SIMON ADINGRA (COTE D’IVOIRE)
Club: Brighton & Hove Albion, England
Winger Adingra was a key figure for Cote d’Ivoire in their rollercoaster run to the 2023 TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations title on home soil in February.
He scored a 90th minute equaliser in an extra-time victory against Mali in the quarter-finals and provided two assists in the final against Nigeria as The Elephants put behind them a difficult start to the campaign to lift the trophy. He was named Best Young Player at the tournament.
The 22-year-old has also been a key performer for Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League this calendar year, part of an exciting and talented young squad of players.
SERHOU GUIRASSY (GUINEA)
Club: Borussia Dortmund, Germany
Guirassy scored a remarkable 30 goals in as many games for German Bundesliga side Stuttgart in the 2023-24 season and has carried on that form following a move to Borussia Dortmund for the new campaign.
His tally of 28 Bundesliga goals in the season beat Stuttgart’s previous record of 25, set by Mario Gómez in the 2008-09. Only Bayern Munich forward Harry Kane managed more goals than Guirassy in the campaign.
The 28-year-old scored 23 goals for club and country in the period under review (January-October 2024), including a hat-trick for Guinea against Ethiopia in the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 qualifiers, and two more a week later against the same opponents.
ACHRAF HAKIMI (MOROCCO)
Club: Paris Saint-Germain, France
Hakimi has long been one of the most consistent right-backs in European football and had an excellent year for Paris Saint-Germain, who he helped win a third French Ligue 1 title in a row last season.
PSG did the ‘Double’ with victory in the Coupe de France final over Lyon in May, while Hakimi also helped Morocco to a bronze medal at the Paris Olympic Games.
With his quality and leadership, he remains a key figure for the Morocco national team and played in 14 internationals in 2024, scoring at the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023 against the Democratic Republic of Congo.
ADEMOLA LOOKMAN (NIGERIA)
Club: Atalanta, Italy
Lookman has been in the form of his life in 2024, helping turn his Italian Serie A side Atalanta into title contenders and taking them to a UEFA Europa League trophy win, a first major piece of silverware for the club in 61 years.
The 27-year-old scored a hat-trick in the decider as Atalanta became the only team in the 2023-24 campaign to inflict a defeat on German Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen as the forward provided one of the great final displays in European football history.
Lookman also helped Nigeria to the final of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023, where they lost to the hosts. His displays, and three goals, did not go unnoticed as he was named in the Team of the Tournament.
RONWEN WILLIAMS (SOUTH AFRICA)
Club: Mamelodi Sundowns, South Africa
Goalkeeper Williams’ spectacular penalty saves at the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023 will live long in the memory as he captained South Africa to the bronze medal.
Along the way they beat more fancied Morocco in the round of 16, before Williams’ shoot-out heroics saw the side past Cape Verde and DR Congo. He also helped Bafana Bafana qualify for TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2025 and was a nominee for FIFA’s Yashin Trophy for best goalkeeper in 2024.
The 32-year-old helped his club Mamelodi Sundowns set a joint record low of 11 goals conceded in 30 games in the South African Premiership as The Brazilians romped to a record-extending seventh domestic league title in succession.
