Côte d’Ivoire’s Yaya Touré only player to win CAF Player of the Year Award for four consecutive times

* Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o follows in three consecutive times and twice consecutively by Senegal’s El Hadji Diouf and Egypt’s Mohamed Salah

* It has been dominated by west African players since 1992 when CAF took over management of the award from France Football

By Duncan Mlanjira

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) Awards 2024 will see a new men’s Player of the Year crowned when they are staged in Marrakech, Morrocco on Monday, December 16, the latest recipient of a prize that has celebrated the continent’s elite players in various guises since 1970.

Topping the list of previous winners is Côte d’Ivoire’s Yaya Touré as the only player to win the CAF Player of the Year Award for four consecutive times (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014) followed by three times in a roll by Cameroon’s legend, Samuel Eto’o (2003, 2004, 2005).

Samuel Eto’o also has four titles as he further was honoured in 2010 after Côte d’Ivoire’s Didier Drogba in 2006; Frédéric Kanouté (Mali) in 2007; Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo) in 2008 and Drogba again in 2009.

Winning twice consecutively are Senegal’s El Hadji Diouf (2001, 2002) and Egypt’s Mohamed Salah (2017, 2018) and while there was a break of 2020 and 2021 due to CoVID-19 pandemic, Senegal’s Sadio Mané won it in 2019 and 2022.

The African Footballer of the Year was first established by France Football magazine 54 years ago and it was taken over by CAF in 1992, which has been dominated by west African players since then.

Abedi Pele (Ghana) claimed the CAF inaugural title in 1992; followed by Nigerians Rashidi Yekini (1993) and Emmanuel Amunike (1994); Liberian George Weah (1995) and again two Nigerians consecutively — Nwankwo Kanu (1996) and Victor Ikpeba (1997).

Morocco’s Mustapha Hadji became a gap of Nigerian dominance in 1998 before Nwankwo Kanu reclaimed it in 1999 while Cameroon’s  Patrick Mboma won it in 2000 and after Yaya Touré’s four-year dominance came Gabon’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2015) and Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez (2016).

Former Mali international Salif Keïta was the very first recipient in 1970, when it was managed by France Football Magazine, which he earned while he was playing for Saint-Étienne in France.

As a teenager he was in the Stade Malien side that lost in the first CAF Champions Cup final in 1965 and thereafter moved to Saint-Étienne, where he won three successive Ligue 1 titles from 1968-70 and became a fan favourite in a golden period for one of France’s most beloved clubs.

He scored 42 goals alone in the 1970-71 season when St Etienne finished second to Marseille, where he moved in 1972.

Ibrahim Sunday (Ghana & Asante Kotoko) claimed the award in 1971 and Chérif Souleymane (Guinea & Hafia) the following year as the France Football Award continued until 1994, by which time CAF had created their own prize two years earlier.

Abedi Pele of Ghana claimed the Award three years in a row between 1991-1993, and future Liberia President George Weah was a winner in 1995 as he also became the first player from Africa to lift the Ballon d’Or.

The five nominees still in the running ahead of this year’s gala at the Palais des Congrès are Côte d’Ivoire and Brighton & Hove Albion winger Simon Adingr; Borussia Dortmund’s Guinea international striker Serhou Guirassy; Morocco and Paris Saint-Germain’s Achraf Hakimi; Nigerian and Atalanta’s exciting winger Ademola Lookman and Mamelodi Sundowns and South Africa’s goalkeeper Ronwen Williams.

Williams will be hoping his exploits for South Africa at Africa Cup of Nations (AfCON) Côte d’Ivoire 2023 see him claim the prize as he has also been nominated in 3 categories — Player of the Year, CAF Goalkeeper of the Year and CAF Interclub Player of the Year.

The sensational goalkeeper is also the only player from the the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) but the women’s category has three from the region, Malawi Scorchers’ stars, sisters Tabitha and Temwa Chawinga alongside Zambia’s Barbara Banda, Sanna Mssoudy from Morroco and Chiamaka Nnadozie from Nigeria.

This is the 6th time for Tabitha to be nominated for the African player of the year award but it has eluded her despite some phenomenon attributes of the player in which she etched a niche in women’s football to win the Golden Boot in three of her host countries — Sweden, China and Italy.

She has been beaten to it by Nigerian Asisat Oshoala, who is the current holder of the award, leads as top winner with six accolades, two more than compatriot Perpetua Nkwocha.—Content by CAFonline; editing by Duncan Mlanjira, Maravi Express