Mohammed Kudus, Partey miss out on CAF's top 10 shortlist for Player of the Year Award

The two Black Stars players were among the nominees for the award, but they were not selected for the final shortlist, which was announced by CAF on Thursday, November 16, 2026.

Kudus scored 18 goals and provided 7 assists in 42 appearances for Ajax, while Partey played a key role in Ghana's qualification for the 2022 World Cup and had a notable season with Arsenal.

Despite their outstanding performances for both club and country, Mohammed Kudus and Thomas Partey failed to make it to Africa's top 10 shortlist.

The shortlist includes some of the biggest names in African football, such as Mohamed Salah, Riyad Mahrez, Victor Osimhen, and Sadio Mane.

Moccoro had four of their players being nominated which includes; Achraf Hakimi, Sofyan Amrabat, Yasmine Bounou and Youssef En-Nesyri.

The ultimate winner of the CAF Men's Player of the Year award will be determined through a voting process that includes the CAF Technical Committee, media professionals, head coaches, captains of member associations, and clubs that participated in the group stages of the Interclub competitions.

Below is CAF's shortlist of 10 players for the Men's Player of the Year award

CAF has released the shortlist of 10 players for the men’s player of the year.

-Riyad Mahrez ????????
-Frank Anguissa ????????
-Vincent Aboubakar ????????
-Mohamed Salah ????????
-Achraf Hakimi Morocco????????
-Sofyan Amrabat ????????
-Yasmine Bounou ????????
-Youssef En-Nesyri ????????
-Victor Osimhen????????
-Sadio Mane???????? pic.twitter.com/xlqIVvdZku

— Mimi Fawaz (@MimosaFawaz) November 17, 2023