CAF Awards 2026: Is Trezeguet the clear favourite for the Interclub Player of the Year award?

The race for the African Interclub Player of the Year award is underway as of this Wednesday. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced the list of ten nominees for this award at the CAF Awards 2026.

The Interclub Player of the Year award recognises outstanding performances during the previous continental season, with representatives from five countries and players from the CAF Champions League and the Confederation Cup. Among this year's contenders are Egyptian Mahmoud Hassan “Trezeguet”, South African Teboho Mokoena and several players who featured in the continental finals.

Confederation Cup: four players nominated

Four players stood out in this selection during the last edition of the Confederation Cup. USM Alger, who beat Zamalek to win the competition, are represented by Ahmed Khaldi. The Algerian forward scored four goals in the tournament and made his mark in the first leg of the final, converting the winning penalty against the Egyptian club in stoppage time (1-0). The victory was confirmed in the return leg in Cairo, where the Algiers side lifted the trophy after winning the penalty shootout (8-7).

CR Belouizdad's Abdennour-Iheb Belhocini is also among the nominees. He too scored four goals in the competition. Morocco's Sofian El Moudane of Olympic Club Safi completes the list after scoring four times and helping his team reach the semi-finals.

The competition's final nominee is Egyptian Mohamed Shehata of Zamalek. The midfielder featured in both legs of the final against USMA.

Champions League: Trezeguet leads the race

Six more players complete the list of nominees. They all come from the Champions League. Egypt's Mahmoud Hassan Trezeguet particularly impressed for Al Ahly. In seven appearances, he scored six goals, making him one of the competition's top scorers.

Sudanese player Abdelrazig Omer, known as Abdel Raouf, of Al Hilal also enjoyed an impressive campaign, scoring five goals and providing one assist in eight matches.

Morocco have two representatives in Mohamed Rabie Hrimat, captain of AS FAR, who played in all eleven of his team's matches. He particularly stood out in the final against Mamelodi Sundowns, scoring a penalty in the second leg. Mounir Chouiar played a key role in RS Berkane's campaign, scoring four goals and providing one assist. He was therefore involved in five of his team's nine goals in the competition.

Mamelodi Sundowns represented

The African champions have two players recognised with nominations. Teboho Mokoena is among the leading contenders after playing an important role in the South African side's triumph over AS FAR. His teammate Khuliso Mudau is also in the running. The defender particularly stood out by finding the net in the first leg of the quarter-final against Stade Malien, which his team won 3-0.

The awards ceremony is scheduled for Monday, 7 December, in Lagos, Nigeria.

Also read: AFCON 2028: what are the dates and which country will host it?

Joshua SOSSOU

Editorfr, en, ar

As a sports fan, and particularly a football fan, I've been putting my writing talent to good use for a number of years now to promote African talent and the continent's football in general. On Foot Africa, enjoy reading each of my lines.