The CAF Awards is a great night held annually by The Confederation of African Football. The association hosts the award ceremony to commemorate the continent’s best football player of the year.
The huge prize of the event is known as “The African Footballer of the Year Award.” It has been presented to the winner by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) since the year 1992.
Introduction To Soccer Vista
Our experts at Betting-Tips-Africa are here with an article on the CAF Awards in another edition of our famous SoccerVista section.
Our team created and designed the SoccerVista section to assist bettors in many ways. Firstly, we designed the section to enlighten our audience about football and give them a good perspective.
Furthermore, it was created to reveal the latest football-related information as well as provide opinions and positives to our readers.
The last and most important reason for the creation SoccerVista is to help our readers make profit from their bets. For us, the increased knowledge our readers gain translates directly into the profits they make from their bets.
At Betting Tips Africa, it is important to us to help our readers increase the amount of money they win from their sports betting journey. This can be achieved through a greater knowledge base of football which SoccerVista serves.
SoccerVista’s Topic Of Discussion
Our topic of discussion for this week’s episode of SoccerVista is centered on one of the most prestigious award nights. This award night is known as the CAF Awards, and its biggest award is termed “The African Footballer of the Year Award.”
The CAF Awards returned last year after being cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic crippled all football-related activities around the world.
Individual awards for achievements in African football between September 2022 and June 2023 gets presented to worthy recipients at the awards ceremony.
The African Footballer of the Year Award is the biggest prize on offer for the CAF Awards night. As expected, many players are in the run for it. So, in this edition, we will take a look at some of the players who have a big chance of winning the award.
However, before we approach the main objective of this article, we will take a brief overview of the African Footballer Of The Year. We will also look at the full list of winners and some of its biggest winners. Furthermore, we will reveal our picks to win the next edition and how bettors can gain profit from the event.
CAF Awards (History Of The African Footballer Of The Year)
The earlier version of the African Footballer of the Year Award was handed out between 1970 and 1994. France Football hosted and handed out the awards to their winners during this period. Malian striker, Salif Keita, was the first player to win the award in 1970.
However, CAF took over the organisation and presentation of the award to the winners during the year 1992. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) body oversees African football, and they took over in 1992.
The magazine presented identical Golden Balls to Abedi Pele and George Weah in 1993 and 1994 due to the adjustments. Both Rashidi Yekini and Emmanuel Amuneke, who earned CAF-sponsored honors that year, were not recognised by France Football.
In short, the two awards ran concurrently for three years between 1992 and 1994.
In 1995, once the magazine’s European Ballon d’Or had been expanded to include players from all European leagues, France Football stopped giving out its own version of the award.
CAF Awards: Full List Of African Footballer Of The Year Winners Before The 2000’s
Below is a list of every African Footballer Of The Year Award winner till date;
1970: Salif Keita (St Etienne and Mali)
1971: Ibrahim Sunday (Asante Kotoko and Ghana)
1972: Cherif Souleymane (Hafia and Guinea)
1973: Tshimen Bwanga (TP Mazembe Englebert and Zaire)
1974: Paul Moukila (CARA Brazzaville and Congo)
1975: Ahmed Faras (Mohammedia and Morocco)
1976: Roger Milla (Canon Yaounde and Cameroon)
1977: Tarak Dhiab (Esperance and Tunisia)
1978: Karim Abdoul Razak (Asante Kotoko and Ghana)
1979: Thomas Nkono (Canon Yaounde and Cameroon)
1980: Jean Manga Onguene (Canon Yaounde and Cameroon)
1981: Lakhdar Belloumi (GCR Mascara and Algeria)
1982: Thomas Nkono (Espanyol and Cameroon)
1983: Mahmoud Al Khatib (Al Ahli and Egypt)
1984: Theophile Abega (Toulouse and Cameroon)
1985: Mohamed Timoumi (Royal Armed Forces and Morocco)
1986: Badou Ezaki (Real Mallorca and Morocco)
1987: Rabah Madjer (FC Porto and Algeria)
1988: Kalusha Bwalya (Cercle Bruges and Zambia)
1989: George Weah (Monaco and Liberia)
1990: Roger Milla (St Denis and Cameroon)
1991: Abedi Pele Ayew (Olympique Marseille and Ghana)
1992: Abedi Pele Ayew (Olympique Marseille and Ghana)
1993: Abedi Pele Ayew (Olympique Lyonnaise and Ghana) / Rashidi Yekini (Vitoria de Setubal and Nigeria)
1994: George Weah (Paris St Germain and Liberia) / Emmanuel Amunike (Sporting Lisbon and Nigeria)
1995: George Weah (AC Milan and Liberia)
1996: Nwankwo Kanu (Inter Milan and Nigeria)
1997: Victor Ikpeba (Monaco and Nigeria)
1998: Mustapha Hadji (Deportivo Coruna and Morocco)
1999: Nwankwo Kanu (Arsenal and Nigeria)
CAF Awards: Full List Of African Footballer Of The Year Winners During The 2000’s
2000: Patrick Mboma (Parma and Cameroon)
2001: El Hadji Diouf (Rennes and Senegal)
2002: El Hadji Diouf (Liverpool and Senegal)
2003: Samuel Eto’o (Real Mallorca and Cameroon)
2004: Samuel Eto’o (Barcelona and Cameroon)
2005: Samuel Eto’o (Barcelona and Cameroon)
2006: Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Ivory Coast)
2007: Frederic Kanoute (Sevilla and Mali)
2008: Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal and Togo)
2009: Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Ivory Coast)
2010: Samuel Eto’o (Inter Milan and Cameroon)
2011: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2012: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2013: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2014: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2015: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund and Gabon)
2016: Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City and Algeria)
2017: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool and Egypt)
2018: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool and Egypt)
2019: Sadio Mane (Liverpool and Senegal)
2020: Suspended due to COVID
2021: Suspended due to COVID
2022: Sadio Mane
CAF Awards: Biggest Winners Of The African Footballer Of The Year
Below is a list of players who have won the award multiple times.
Samuel Eto’o (4 times)
Yaya Touré (4 times)
George Weah (3 times)
Abedi Pele (3 times)
Didier Drogba (2 times)
Roger Milla (2 times)
Mohamed Salah (2 times)
Nwankwo Kanu (2 times)
El Hadji Diouf (2 times)
CAF Awards: Who Will Win The Huge Prize This Year?
Having taken a brief walk through the African Footballer Of The Year Award, we will be revealing our picks for the next edition of the prize.
Victor Osimhen
Simply put, Nigerian and Napoli marksman Victor Osimhen has been on fire this past season. The former Wolfsburg man has the talent, hunger, and desire to win it all.
The stars aligned in favour of the Super Eagles hitman following his performances for the Partenopei in Italy and Europe. He was able to bring home the Scudetto to the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium after 33 years of misses.
Osimhen was able to bag 26 goals in Serie A, thus becoming the first African player to win the Serie A Golden Boot. For proper context, Osimhen achieved this in the 125-year history of the Italian top flight.
He also achieved this awesome record considering some of Africa’s greatest players, like Samuel Eto’o and George Weah, have graced the Serie A stage.
Although he lost the Serie A best player award to teammate Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Osimhen was able to get the first league win of his career.
For his achievements this season, Osimhen is in a good place to win the African Footballer Of The Year Award. Gamers who think they can do it can place their bets with any of the Bookies hosted on our site.
Some bookmakers offer outstanding odds in this regard. They include Bet9ja, William Hill, Bet365, and many more.
Sadio Mane
The Senegalese superstar is the current holder of the African Footballer Of The Year Award. Mane left Liverpool for Bayern Munich and enjoyed a near-seamless integration at the Bavarians.
His efforts were topped up with a Bundesliga title win, but it’s obvious that he is not his usual self. He has a meagre seven goals in the league, and his five assists aren’t eye-catching.
An injury kept him out of participating in the 2022 World Cup held in Qatar. It is fair to say that Mane’s chances of retaining CAF’s most significant award are on a lower trajectory.
While it is a considerable risk, gamers can stake on the Senegalese to win the award with any Bookie hosted by Betting Tips Africa.
Mohamed Salah
Football fans fondly call Salah the “The Egyptian King.” He has won the African Footballer Of The Year Award multiple times. At club level, Salah failed to lift silverware, as his 19 goals and 12 assists were not enough.
It’s obvious that Liverpool performed abysmally, but a closer look shows that Salah was no different despite his glamorous statistics.
Salah remains a favourite among voters that decide the winner of the African Footballer Of The Year Award. However, it would be difficult to win his third award based on his performances this past season.
Anyone who believes Salah can edge the award can do so with reputable Bookies like 1xBet, Betway, and many more. You can also read in-depth reviews about these bookmakers on our site [Betting Tips Africa].
Riyad Mahrez
The Algerian wizard has endured a little decline in his performances this past season. He is also declining physically, partly due to age and the Premier League frenzy.
However, despite seeing fewer minutes under Pep Guardiola, Mahrez has been a huge part of a major trophy haul from Manchester City.
The Cityzens edged out Inter-Milan with a 1-0 win in the UCL final, having won the EPL and the FA-Cup. Having won one African Footballer Of The Year Award, Mahrez has a real chance at adding another to his collection.
The 32-year-old winger has managed to contribute 15 goals and 13 assists this season, which is great output. He may be the closest to rival Osimhen for the CAF award, and gamers can take advantage of this.
Reputable Sportsbooks like Paripesa, Odibets, and many more will be offering good odds to gamers in this regard.
Achraf Hakimi
One of Hakimi’s achievements this season is helping Morocco become the first African nation to reach the semifinals of the World Cup. Having won the Ligue 1 with PSG in France, Achraf Hakimi could have a shout for Africa’s top honour.
It is a long shot; however, gamers who wish to stake on this risk can do so on any Bookie hosted by Betting Tips Africa.
