The 2023 CAF of the Year Award winner will be determined through a voting process involving a panel composed of the CAF Technical Committee.

Media professionals, head coaches, and captains of member associations, as well as clubs participating in the group stage of the Interclub competitions, will vote to choose the winner.

The ceremony will be exciting following the special performances of several players in the past season.

Here we rank the top 5 contenders for the 2023 CAF Player of the Year Award.

5. Andre Onana

The Cameroonian goalkeeper had a successful season. The Inter Milan goalkeeper helped his club reach the UEFA Champions League final, where they narrowly lost to Manchester City.

He made 13 appearances in the competition, making 48 saves, a 3.7 average per match and keeping eight clean sheets in total.

Losing the Champions League final will affect his chances of claiming the CAF gong as Inter finished in 3rd position on the Serie A standings.

The impressive goalkeeper has not featured for the Indomitable Lions on the international scene since he walked out on the team’s camp at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

4. Riyad Mahrez

Many have tipped Moroccan star, Riyad Mahrez for the prestigious prize after he won the treble with Manchester City.

However, the Algerian is ranked fourth best following his not-too-impressive impact for the England champions in the past season.

Mahrez managed just five league goals in 30 appearances. He scored three goals in 9 Champions League matches, averaged 35 passes per match with a pass completion rate of 88%, and had nine assists, according to Infogol.

He was not a key figure for the club. Algeria failed to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup held in Qatar last November, which will affect the chances of the 2016 CAF Player of the Year Award recipient.

3. Yassine Bounou

What a year Bounou has had so far. He played a major role as Morocco became the first African team to reach the semi-final of a FIFA World Cup, achieving the feat in Qatar.

In a statement, FIFA credited the 32-year-old for helping the Atlas Lions to that stage of the competition with his brilliant saves.

In the Round of 16 against Spain, after the game had ended 0-0, Bounou saved spot-kicks from Carlos Soler and Sergio Busquets after Pablo Sarabia clanked Spain’s first attempt off the post to send his side through to the quarter-final.

He also kept a clean sheet when they faced the star-studded Portugal, which was led by Cristiano Ronaldo, in the quarter-final of the completion. Morocco won 1-0.

Their adventure was halted by France, who defeated them 2-0 before they lost 2-1 to Croatia in the third-place play-off match.

The Sevilla goalkeeper conceded 39 goals at club level and kept four clean sheets in 25 matches in the La Liga 2022/2023 season.

2. Achraf Hakimi

Hakimi was outstanding for the history-making Morocco at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, featuring in all seven matches. He had two shots on target from 4 shots and scored 0 goals (0.15 xG).

The Paris Saint-Germain star averaged 44 passes per match with a pass completion rate of 83 percent, and had one assist at the tournament, helping them to finish fourth. He is branded as the best right-back in the world.

At club level, the Moroccan was part of the squad that won the Ligue 1 title, the second time he won it.

Despite being a defender, the 24-year-old scored five goals in 28 league matches. He also featured in 8 Champions League matches for the club.

1. Victor Osimhen

The Nigerian international will likely be crowned the 2023 CAF Player of the Year. Osimhen led Napoli to the Scudetto for the first time in more than three decades.

The last time the Partenopei achieved such a feat was during the 1989-90 season under the captainship of the legendary Diego Maradona.

Osimhen scored 26 league goals, smashing all sorts of records, and also became the first African player to win the golden boot in Italy.