Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Rabat – Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi has made it to the much-coveted shortlist of 2019 CAF Awards, making the young Moroccan player one of African football’s most successful–and talented–representatives for the past year.
The online portal for the African Football Confederation unveiled the list of the finalists on December 22.
Hakimi, who currently plays for Germany’s Borussia Dortmund, is competing for the Young African Player of the Year award along with Nigeria’s Samuel Chukwueze and Victor Osimhen.
CAF selected three options for each category, with Hakimi the only Moroccan still in the race.
The preliminary list included Hakim Ziyech and other football players from the Moroccan league.
Hakimi’s performance with his German club earned him a place in the shortlist. On loan from Real Madrid, the young Moroccan’s stellar, consistent form since joining the German league has drawn plaudits from football writers and fans around the world.
The Guardian recently ranked the young Moroccan 90th in its highly regarded list of the 100 best male footballers in the world.
“The Moroccan, who arrived from Spain with a mere 17 first-team games under his belt in the summer of 2018, has developed into one of the most consistent and attack-minded full-backs in Europe during his time at Dortmund. He has scored twice against both Internazionale and Slavia Prague in the Champions League this season and can play at left- or right-back or left or right midfield. Dortmund want to sign him permanently but Hakimi is set on only one thing: being a success at Real,” the British newspaper said of the Moroccan footballer.
But Hakimi has also been a key element with Morocco’s national team during qualifier games for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN). Despite his young age (he had not yet turned 20) while representing Morocco at the most recent World Cup in Russia, Hakimi was commanding a commanding presence on the wings for the Moroccan Atlas Lions.
Hakimi already received the African Young Player of the Year in 2018.
CAF will announce the winners on January 7, 2020, in an award ceremony that will take place in Egypt.
The list of awards includes African Player of the Year, with Mohamed Salah of Egypt competing for the prize along with Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez and Senegal’s Sadio Mane.
