Achraf Hakimi & Ademola Lookman listed among five men African Ballon d'Or 2024 nominees

Mohamed Salah was surprisingly excluded from the list.

Five players made the cut on Monday for the African Player of the Year (African Ballon d’Or 2024) award, including South Africa’s Ronwen Williams and Nigeria’s Ademola Lookman.

The other candidates were Guinea attacker Serhou Guirassy, Ivory Coast winger Simon Adingra, and Morocco defender Achraf Hakimi, according to a Confederation of African Football (CAF) announcement.

Lookman is the favourite to win the trophy after scoring a hat-trick for Atalanta in their 3-0 triumph over Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Europa League final last season. Despite having another fantastic season with his team, Mohamed Salah of Liverpool has surprisingly been left off of the final list of nominees.

Another big omission from the list has been Victor Osimhen who suffered a dip in form after leading Napoli to the Serie A title. During this transfer window, the player was loaned to Turkish outfit Galatasaray.

On December 16, the Moroccan city of Marrakech will host a ceremony where the men’s and women’s stars of Africa will receive prizes in a variety of categories.

In addition to honouring their outstanding accomplishments, their inclusion on this esteemed stage confirms the validity of dreams conceived in the ordinary settings we come across. These nominees’ experiences demonstrate how perseverance and hard effort may turn modest goals into international acclaim.

The CAF Awards ceremony, which honours the top coaches, teams, and figures in continental football, will be held at the conclusion of the year to reveal the victor.

With players from both domestic and elite European clubs, the list showcases the diversity of quality in African football.

The omission of Soufiane Rahimi, a standout player for Morocco’s national team and club, Al-Ahli, from the shortlist, however, has drawn criticism.

The Atlas Lions surprisingly failed to make the shortlist for Team of the Year in 2023, despite Morocco’s outstanding accomplishments, which included winning CAF National Team of the Year and making it to a historic 2022 World Cup semi-final.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Telegram.