CAF Awards 2024: Kudus Misses Out as Lookman, Hakimi, and Tapsoba Lead African Player of the Year Nominations

Atalanta's Ademola Lookman (27), Paris Saint-Germain's Achraf Hakimi (25), and Bayer Leverkusen's Edmond Tapsoba (25) have been named among the ten finalists for the 2024 African Player of the Year award.

According to the list released Thursday evening (October 24, 2024) by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the trio will vie for the prestigious award at the CAF Awards ceremony set to take place in Morocco this December.

Other nominees include Nigeria's stand-in captain William Troost-Ekong, the MVP of this year’s Africa Cup of Nations, Algeria’s Amine Gouiri (Rennes), Cote d'Ivoire’s Simon Adingra (Brighton & Hove Albion), and Guinea’s Serhou Guirassy, who plays for Borussia Dortmund.

Rounding out the list are South Africa’s Ronwen Williams (Mamelodi Sundowns), Morocco’s Soufiane Rahimi (Al Ain), and DR Congo’s Chancel Mbemba (Olympique Marseille).

Unfortunately, reigning African Player of the Year Victor Osimhen did not make the shortlist, nor did Bayer Leverkusen's Victor Boniface, nor did West Ham's Mohammed Kudus.

Kudus’ failure to make the shortlist could be attributed to Ghana’s poor showing at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) this year, where the Black Stars exited at the group stage.

However, the former Ajax star was still one of the bright spots in the team, having netted a double on his tournament debut against Egypt.

CAF further clarified that the awards will recognize performances from the period between January 2024 and October 2024.

The 2024 African Player of the Year Awards will take place on December 16, 2024, in Marrakech, Morocco. This is the third consecutive year Morocco will be hosting the awards.