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Sudan national team head coach Kwesi Appiah has joined the conversation on which player deserves to win the Best African Footballer of the Year award.
Currently, Liverpool’s Mohammed Salah and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) defender Achraf Hakimi are frontrunners for the award.
Reigning African Footballer of the Year Ademola Lookman is not in the race to retain his crown. Still, fellow Super Eagles attacker Victor Osimhen could be in the mix after an impressive loan campaign at Galatasaray.
Appiah, weighing in on the debate, in an interview with RG.org, tipped the Egyptian attacker or Moroccan full-back to win the ultimate. He explained his choice:
Salah has been consistent with top performances in England. But Hakimi has been exceptional too. Even as a defender, he’s scored important goals and been vital for both PSG and Morocco. For me, if either Salah or Hakimi wins, they both deserve it.
Kwesi Appiah
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The CAF African Player of the Year rewards the best player in terms of performance, impact, and titles won in the year under review.
Top contenders for African Player of the Year
Hakimi achieved a historic feat with PSG, helping the French Ligue 1 club win their maiden UEFA Champions League trophy. The 26-year-old was instrumental in PSG’s treble-winning season with 11 goals and 16 assists.
Achraf Hakimi
Liverpool clinched a record-equaling 20th English Premier League title with Salah emerging as the top goalscorer. The Egypt international claimed his fourth Premier League Golden Boot by scoring 29 goals and led the league in assists with 18, for a total of 47 goal involvements.
Mohammed Salah
Osimhen contributed to 45 goals in 41 games for Galatasaray, netting 37 times and setting up eight more. He won the 2024/25 Turkish Super Lig and Cup.
Another top contender is Guinean striker Serhou Guirassy, who had an exceptional season after moving to Borussia Dortmund. In the Champions League, he scored a remarkable 10 goals, which is more than any other player in Dortmund’s history in a single campaign.
Seirhou Guirassy
In the Bundesliga, he scored four goals in one game against Union Berlin and ended the season with an impressive total of 38 goals in all competitions.
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No date has been announced for the 2025 CAF Awards, but the African Player of the Year race is already heating up.