Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen and other Nigerian footballers have been left out of the 10-man shortlist for the 2026 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Men’s Player of the Year award.
The list, announced by CAF on Wednesday through its official 𝕏 account, features some of the continent’s leading football stars, including Senegal’s Sadio Mané, Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi and Ivory Coast’s Amad Diallo.
The omission means Nigeria will have no representative in the race for the continent’s biggest individual football award this year, marking a major disappointment for the country’s football fans.
The development comes after Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The Super Eagles lost to the Democratic Republic of Congo in the African play-off final in November 2025.
Nigeria played a 1-1 draw with DR Congo after extra time before losing 4-3 on penalties, ending the country’s hopes of returning to the global tournament.
However, the Super Eagles finished third at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations hosted by Morocco between December 21, 2025, and January 18, 2026.
The announcement of the men’s shortlist came a day after it was reported that no Super Falcons player made the final list for the Women’s Player of the Year award.
The Nigerian women’s team, however, secured a nomination in the Women’s National Team of the Year category.
Full List Of 2026 CAF Men’s Player Of The Year Nominees
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The 10 players nominated for the award are:
1. Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast)
2. Yoane Wissa (DR Congo)
3. Antoine Semenyo (Ghana)
4. Ismael Saibari (Morocco)
5. Achraf Hakimi (Morocco)
6. Brahim Diaz (Morocco)
7. Ismaila Sarr (Senegal)
8. Pape Gueye (Senegal)
9. Sadio Mané (Senegal)
10. Teboho Mokoena (South Africa)
CAF also announced nominees for several other men’s award categories ahead of the ceremony.
Men’s Young Player of the Year: The nominees are Ibrahim Maza, Christian Kofane, Christ Inao, Yan Diomande, Hamza Abdelkarim, Caleb Yirenkyi, Ismaël Kamissoko, Abdellah Ouazane, Ayoub Bouaddi and Ibrahim Mbaye.
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Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year: The 10 nominees are Oussama Benbot (Algeria), Vozinha (Cabo Verde), Yahia Fofana (Ivory Coast), Lionel Mpasi (DR Congo), El Mahdy Soliman (Egypt), Mostafa Shobeir (Egypt), Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti (Morocco), Yassine Bounou (Morocco), Édouard Mendy (Senegal) and Ronwen Williams (South Africa).
Men’s National Team of the Year: Algeria, Cabo Verde, Ivory Coast, DR Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia made the shortlist.
Men’s Club of the Year: The nominated clubs are CR Belouizdad, USM Alger, AS Maniema Union, Zamalek SC, AS FAR, Olympic Club Safi, RS Berkane, Mamelodi Sundowns, Al Hilal SC and ES Tunis.
The nominees are Lamine N’Diaye, Pedro Leitão Brito, popularly known as Bubista, Sébastien Desabre, Hossam Hassan, Moatamed Gamal, Alexandre Santos, Mohamed Ouahbi, Walid Regragui, Pape Thiaw and Miguel Cardoso.
The 2026 CAF Awards ceremony is scheduled to hold in Lagos, Nigeria, on Monday, December 7, where winners across the various categories will be announced, Naja News reports.
