CAF Awards: Maza, Diomandé and Bouaddi among 10 African Young Player of the Year nominees

CAF has shortlisted ten talents from eight countries for its Men’s Young Player of the Year award

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CAF Awards: Maza, Diomandé and Bouaddi among 10 African Young Player of the Year nominees

The candidates for the 2026 African Young Player of the Year award have been revealed. Ibrahim Maza, Ayyoub Bouaddi, Yan Diomandé and seven other prospects feature on the shortlist.

The Confederation of African Football has selected ten players for this category at the 2026 CAF Awards. Côte d’Ivoire and Morocco each have two representatives, while Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Mali and Senegal have one nominee apiece.

The club statistics below are updated through November 4, 2026 and cover all official competitions. They provide an overview of each player’s output since the start of this season and compare it with the 2025-2026 campaign.

Statistics for the ten 2026 CAF Awards nominees

Ibrahim Maza (Algeria, Bayer Leverkusen): 12 appearances, 4 goals and 3 assists in 2026-2027. Last season, the attacking midfielder recorded 44 appearances, 5 goals and 6 assists.
Christian Kofane (Cameroon, Bayer Leverkusen): 6 appearances and 3 goals this season, with no assists. In 2025-2026, the striker played 44 matches, scored 7 goals and provided 5 assists.
Christ Inao Oulaï (Côte d’Ivoire, Fiorentina): 8 appearances without a goal or an assist since joining the Italian club. With Trabzonspor last season, he registered 31 matches, 2 goals and 4 assists.
Yan Diomandé (Côte d’Ivoire, Real Madrid): 14 appearances, 4 goals and 4 assists in 2026-2027. The winger recorded 36 matches, 13 goals and 9 assists for RB Leipzig in 2025-2026.
Hamza Abdelkarim (Egypt, FC Barcelona): 2 first-team appearances for the Catalan club this season, without a goal or an assist. In the previous campaign, he played 8 official first-team matches for Al Ahly, also without scoring or assisting.
Caleb Yirenkyi (Ghana, Coventry City): 15 appearances and one assist this season, without scoring, combining his start to the campaign at Nordsjælland with his matches for Coventry. In 2025-2026, he played 34 games, scored twice and delivered 6 assists.
Ismaël Kamissoko (Mali, Étoiles du Mandé): one appearance and one goal in Mali’s Elite Tournament in 2026-2027. The available figures for the previous campaign concern the 2026 U17 AFCON, where he played 4 matches for Mali without scoring or assisting.
Abdellah Ouazane (Morocco, Ajax Amsterdam): 18 appearances, 3 goals and 4 assists this season. In 2025-2026, he totalled 30 matches, 6 goals and 8 assists across Jong Ajax, the Dutch Cup and the UEFA Youth League.
Ayyoub Bouaddi (Morocco, Manchester City): 8 appearances and 2 assists since the start of the season, without scoring. With Lille in 2025-2026, the midfielder featured in 42 matches and supplied one assist, without a goal.
Ibrahim Mbaye (Senegal, Aston Villa): 11 appearances and 4 assists this season, without scoring. In the previous campaign with Paris Saint-Germain, he recorded 33 appearances, 4 goals and 3 assists.

Young Player of the Year (Men) - Nominees #CAFAwards2026
— CAF (@CAF_Online), November 4, 2026

Eight nations represented on the shortlist

The selection combines players already established in European first teams with others who remain in the development stage. Club statistics are only one part of the assessment, alongside international performances, youth competitions and each player’s collective achievements.

The winner will be announced at the 2026 CAF Awards ceremony, scheduled for December 7 in Lagos, Nigeria.

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