Achraf Hakimi Shortlisted for 2022 CAF ‘Player of the Year’ Award

Rabat – Morocco international and PSG right-back Achraf Hakimi features in the final list of African footballers nominated for the “Player of the Year” award of the 2022 CAF Awards.

The prestigious award ceremony will be held in Morocco’s capital Rabat on July 21.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) unveiled on Monday its star-studded final list of nominees for the men’s categories, featuring several renowned footballers such as Egypt’s Mohamed Salah, Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez, and Cameroon’s Karl Toko Ekambi.

In the same category, Hakimi is also competing with Vincent Aboubakar (Cameroon), Sebastien Haller (Ivory Coast), Naby Keita (Guinea), as well as three Senegalese players: Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Sadio Mane.

The PSG right-back remains the most expensive player in Africa, with a current estimated value of €75.2 million, according to the International Center for Sports Studies (CIES).

The winner of the best African player trophy, to be announced at the CAF Awards ceremony in Rabat, will be decided by a voting panel made up of CAF Technical Committee, media professionals, as well as Head Coaches and Captains of Member Associations and clubs that played in the group stage of the Interclub competitions in the 2021-22 season.

Another list, the “Interclub Player of the Year,” features three Moroccan players from the Wydad Athletic Club: Achraf Dari, Yahya Jabrane, and Zouheir El Moutaraji.

Walid Regragui, who coached Wydad in the just concluded season, is among the nominees of the “Coach of the Year.” Meanwhile, the Casablanca-based club itself is competing in the “Club of the Year” category alongside Morocco’s RS Berkane, Petro Atletico (Angola), Al Ahly (Egypt), and Orlando Pirates (South Africa).

CAF has also nominated five Moroccan players for the women’s categories, with 16-year-old striker Yasmine Zouhir being the only Moroccan nominated in the “best young player” category.

In the “best interclub player” category, the African football governing body featured four representatives of Rabat’s AS FAR: Fatima Zahra Dahmos, Ghizlane Chebbak, Sanaa Mssoudy, and Fatima Tagnaout.