Notable absences shake up the candidates list for the 2026 African Player of the Year award

The announcement of the final list of nominees for the 2026 African Player of the Year award has sparked widespread debate and interaction in sports circles, as it did not include the names of several of the continent's top stars who have delivered impressive performances with their clubs and national teams in recent times.

The Confederation of African Football has revealed a list of ten players competing for the African Ballon d'Or, to succeed Morocco's Achraf Hakimi, who won the award last year and is again among the candidates to defend his title.

The squad includes Ivorian Amad Diallo, Congolese Yuan Wissa, and Ghanaian Antoine Semenyo, alongside the Moroccan trio of Ismaël Sabiri, Achraf Hakimi, and Brahim Díaz, as well as the Senegalese trio of Ismaïla Sarr, Pape Gueye, and Sadio Mané.

The identity of the winner of the CAF Awards is set to be revealed during the ceremony scheduled for December 7 in Lagos, Nigeria. The event will also feature the distribution of other awards, including Best Coach, Best Young Player, Best Female Player, Best National Team, and Best Club, alongside the Best Referee award.

However, the shortlist did not pass without criticism, as media outlets and social media platforms highlighted the absence of a number of prominent names that were strong candidates for the award, considering their status and performances in African and European pitches.

Egyptian Mohamed Salah, Trabzonspor's forward, heads the list of notable omissions, alongside Nigerians Victor Osimhen, Galatasaray's top scorer, and Ademola Lookman, Atlético Madrid's player, as well as Algerian Riyad Mahrez, star of Al-Shamal, and his compatriot Anis Haj Moussa, who continues to shine with Feyenoord.

Guinea's Serhou Guirassy, a forward for Borussia Dortmund, and Cameroon's Bryan Mbeumo, a player for Manchester United, have been left out of the final shortlist, in a surprise that raised questions about the selection criteria and the names that did not secure a place among the ten nominees.

The list of the top ten players missing from the official competition for the African Player of the Year award for 2026 includes the following names:

Mohamed Salah – Egypt.

Victor Osimhen – Nigeria.

Ademola Lookman – Nigeria.

Serhou Guirassy - Guinea.

Riyad Mahrez – Algeria.

Bryan Mbeumo – Cameroon.

Ibrahim Maza - Algeria.

Ian Diomande – Ivory Coast.

Ayoub Bouaddi – Morocco.

Anis Haj Moussa - Algeria.