Morocco will have a strong presence at the 2026 CAF Awards, with national team players, club performers, and three Moroccan clubs nominated across several of the ceremony’s main categories. The shortlist includes three contenders for African Player of the Year, two goalkeepers in the running for Goalkeeper of the Year, as well as nominees for Interclub Player of the Year and Club of the Year.
Hakimi, Diaz, and Saibari lead Morocco’s nominations
In the race for African Player of the Year, commonly known as the African Ballon d’Or, defending winner Achraf Hakimi is joined by teammates Brahim Diaz and Ismael Saibari among the 10 nominees announced by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Wednesday, November 4.
All three were part of the Moroccan national team that won the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and reached the quarterfinals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Their individual performances also feature prominently in their nominations. Saibari scored three goals at the World Cup before joining Bayern Munich, while Diaz finished as the 2025 AFCON’s top scorer with five goals and provided four assists at the World Cup, making him the tournament’s second-highest assist provider.
Hakimi, meanwhile, continued to deliver for both club and country, winning another UEFA Champions League title with Paris Saint-Germain. The Moroccan right-back also retained the African Player of the Year award in 2025 and finished 13th in the 2026 Ballon d’Or ranking published by France Football.
They will compete against Amad Diallo of Ivory Coast, Yoane Wissa of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana’s Antoine Semenyo, Senegalese trio Ismaila Sarr, Pape Gueye, and Sadio Mané, as well as South Africa’s Teboho Mokoena.
Bounou and Tagnaouti shortlisted for Goalkeeper of the Year
Morocco is also represented in the Goalkeeper of the Year category by Yassine Bounou and Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti. Bounou, who plays for Saudi club Al Hilal, was Morocco’s goalkeeper during both the victorious 2025 AFCON campaign and the 2026 World Cup. He has already won the CAF award twice, in 2023 and 2025.
Tagnaouti, meanwhile, is nominated after contributing to AS FAR’s campaign in which the Rabat side reached the CAF Champions League final and finished third in the Botola. He was the third-choice goalkeeper for the national team.
The two Moroccans face competition from Algeria’s Oussama Benbot, Cape Verde’s Vozinha, Ivory Coast’s Yahia Fofana, DR Congo’s Lionel Mpasi, Egypt’s El Mahdy Soliman and Mostafa Shobeir, Senegal’s Edouard Mendy, and South Africa’s Ronwen Williams.
Three Moroccans in the running for Interclub Player of the Year
The Moroccan presence extends to the Interclub Player of the Year shortlist, which features Mohamed Rabie Hrimat, Mounir Chouiar, and Sofian El Moudane.
Former AS FAR captain Hrimat is nominated after leading the Rabat club to the CAF Champions League final, its first appearance in the continental final in 41 years. Chouiar was a central figure in RS Berkane’s successful first campaign in the Champions League, while El Moudane finished joint-top scorer in the CAF Confederation Cup with four goals.
They will compete against Algeria’s Abdennour Belhocini and Ahmed Khaldi, Egypt’s Trézéguet and Mohamed Shehata, South Africa’s Khuliso Mudau and Teboho Mokoena, and Sudan’s Abdel Raouf.
AS FAR, Berkane, and OCS nominated for Club of the Year
At club level, AS FAR, RS Berkane, and Olympique de Safi have all been nominated for Club of the Year.
AS FAR reached the Champions League final, Berkane made the Champions League semifinals, and OCS reached the Confederation Cup semifinals, giving Morocco three representatives in the category.
The CAF Awards 2026 ceremony will take place on Monday, December 7, in Lagos, Nigeria.
Morocco has previously produced five African Player of the Year winners: Ahmed Faras (1975), Mohamed Timoumi (1985), Badou Zaki (1986), Mustapha Hadji (1998), and Hakimi (2025).
