Salah aims for hat trick of African best player awards on shortlist with Hakimi and Osimhen

For the women’s award, record five-time winner Asisat Oshoala is competing with Thembi Kgatlana and Barbra Banda.

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah walks off after being substituted during the Europa League Group E soccer match between Liverpool and LASK, at the Anfield stadium in Liverpool, England, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023. | Photo Credit: AP

Mohamed Salah will aim for a hat trick of African Player of the Year awards after being named on a three-man candidate list for the 2023 prize with Achraf Hakimi and Victor Osimhen on Thursday.

There was no space for two past award winners, Sadio Mane and Riyad Mahrez, who moved this year to play for clubs in Saudi Arabia.

For the women’s award, record five-time winner Asisat Oshoala is competing with Thembi Kgatlana and Barbra Banda.

Asisat Oshoala of FC Barcelona celebrates after scoring the team’s fifth goal during the UEFA Women’s Champions League group stage match between FC Barcelona and SL Benfica at Estadi Johan Cruyff on November 14, 2023 in Barcelona, Spain. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

The Confederation of African Football announced the candidates ahead of its annual award ceremony to be held on Monday in Marrakech, Morocco.

Voting is by the African football body’s technical committee, media, captains and coaches of national teams, plus clubs who took part in continental competitions, CAF said.

Egypt star Salah won back-to-back African honours for 2017 and ’18 before his then-Liverpool teammate Mane won the next two editions awarded for 2019 and 2022. Salah was runner-up last year.

Paris Saint-Germain right-back Hakimi was a standout in the Morocco team that reached the 2022 World Cup semifinals.

Nigerian forward Osimhen’s league-leading 26 goals for Napoli last season lifted the club to its first Serie A title in 33 years.

While Mane had a difficult first season at Bayern Munich and missed the World Cup with Senegal because of injury, Mahrez was in a Manchester City squad that won a treble of Champions League, English Premier League and FA Cup titles.

Mahrez was the African player of the Year in 2016 when he helped Leicester win a stunning English league title.

Oshoalawon her fifth African Women’s player of the Year award in 2022 and then helped her club Barcelona, win the Women’s Champions League before going to the Women’s World Cup with Nigeria.

Kgatlana, who plays for Racing Louisville in the United States, was a South Africa standout at the World Cup and Banda captained Zambia at the tournament played in Australia and New Zealand.