The African Footballer of the Year award, presented to the best African footballer each year, has been conferred by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) since 1992.
Samuel Eto'o and Yaya Touré have won the award the most times (4 wins each), Two-time winner Didier Drogba is the player with the most runner-up appearances (4), most third place finishes (3), and most times in the top three (9). The France-born Frédéric Kanouté, Riyad Mahrez and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are the only European-born players to win the award (both Kanouté and Aubameyang initially featured for France's U21 squad before going on to represent Mali and Gabon, respectively).[1][2] The winner of the 2023 edition is Victor Osimhen.
History
An earlier African Footballer of the Year Golden Ball award was given out between 1970 and 1994 by France Football magazine. The changes resulted in parallel Golden Ball awards given out to Abedi Pele and George Weah in 1993[3] and 1994[4] by the magazine, although the CAF sponsored awards for those years were won respectively by Rashidi Yekini and Emmanuel Amuneke, as well as two awards given to Abedi Pele in 1992.[5] France Football discontinued the election from 1995 after the European Ballon d'Or – also awarded by the magazine – had been opened to all players in the European leagues.[6] In 1991 the magazine Afrique Football installed an award. It was discontinued in 2003.[5]
In 2023, Algerian footballer Riyad Mahrez was not chosen as a finalist for the award.[7] Mahrez's absence was perceived as a snub by media and the Algerian football community.[8][9] Algerian manager Abdelhak Benchikha, nominated for Best African Coach, said he would not attend the CAF awards ceremony in solidarity with Mahrez, Algerian club USM Alger, and Algerian footballer Zinedine Belaid.[10] Walid Sadi, the president of the Algerian Football Federation, also said that he would not attend the ceremony as a show of support for Mahrez.[11]
Winners
France Football award (1970–1994)
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The award by France Football magazine of non-European nationality, the award being given to George Weah that year. It had already been replaced by an official award given out by the Confederation of African Football since 1992.[12]
Afrique Football award (Etoile d'Or) (1991–2003)
| Year | Rank | Player | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991[13] | 1st |  Abedi Pele |  Marseille | 206 |
| 2nd |  George Weah | Monaco | 146 | |
| 3rd | Nii Lamptey |  Anderlecht | 68 | |
| 1992[14] | 1st | Abedi Pele | Marseille | 192 |
| 2nd | George Weah | Paris Saint-Germain | 167 | |
| 3rd |  Alain Gouaméné |  Raja CA | 60 | |
| 1993[15] | 1st |  Rashidi Yekini |  Vitória de Setúbal | 152 |
| 2nd | Abedi Pele | Marseille | 118 | |
| 3rd | Tony Yeboah |  Eintracht Frankfurt | 98 | |
| 1994[16] | 1st | Emmanuel Amunike | Sporting CP | 178 |
| 2nd | George Weah | Paris Saint-Germain | 114 | |
| 3rd | Daniel Amokachi |  Everton | 97 | |
| 1995 | 1st | George Weah |  Milan | – |
| 1996 | 1st | Nwankwo Kanu | Internazionale | – |
| 1997 | 1st | Victor Ikpeba | Monaco | – |
| 1998[17] | 1st | Mustapha Hadji |  Deportivo La Coruña | – |
| 2nd | Jay-Jay Okocha | Paris Saint-Germain | – | |
| 3rd | Sunday Oliseh |  Ajax | – | |
| 1999 | 1st | Nwankwo Kanu | Arsenal | – |
| 2000 | 1st |  Patrick M'Boma | Parma | – |
| 2001 | 1st |  El Hadji Diouf | Lens | – |
| 2002[18] | 1st | El Hadji Diouf | Liverpool | 186 |
| 2nd | Papa Bouba Diop | Lens | 64 | |
| 3rd | Samuel Eto'o | Mallorca | 39 | |
| 2003[19] | 1st | Samuel Eto'o | Mallorca | 169 |
| 2nd | Didier Drogba | Marseille | 68 | |
| 3rd | Jay-Jay Okocha | Bolton Wanderers | 51 | |
CAF award (1992–present)
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Multiple winners
* Players in bold are currently active
| Player | Winner | Runner-up | Third place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samuel Eto'o | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Yaya Touré | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| George Weah | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| Abedi Pele | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Didier Drogba | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| Roger Milla | 2 | 2 | 1 |
 Mohamed Salah | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Sadio Mané | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Thomas N'Kono | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Nwankwo Kanu | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| El Hadji Diouf | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Awards won by nationality
| Nation | Winners | Runners-up | Third places |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cameroon | 11 | 8 | 10 |
| Ghana | 6 | 8 | 7 |
| Ivory Coast | 6 | 7 | 6 |
| Nigeria | 6 | 6 | 10 |
| Senegal | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| Morocco | 4 | 2 | 0 |
 Algeria | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Egypt | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| Liberia | 3 | 4 | 0 |
 Mali | 2 | 1 | 0 |
 Guinea | 1 | 3 | 2 |
 DR Congo | 1 | 3 | 0 |
 Gabon | 1 | 2 | 2 |
 Togo | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Zambia | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Congo | 1 | 0 | 0 |
 Tunisia | 1 | 0 | 0 |
 Chad | 0 | 1 | 0 |
