The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has unveiled the ten nominees for the 2026 African Young Player of the Year award, highlighting some of the continent’s most promising talents.
The shortlist features several youngsters already making their mark in European football, including Ivorian Yan Diomandé, Moroccan Ayyoub Bouaddi and Algerian international Ibrahim Maza. Their performances have brought them into contention for one of the most closely watched individual awards at this year’s ceremony.
The list also includes Moroccan prospect Abdellah Ouazane of Ajax Amsterdam and Ibrahim Mbaye, who now plays for Aston Villa. Cameroon’s Christian Kofane, who represents Bayer Leverkusen, and Ivorian Christ Inao, currently at Fiorentina, also earned nominations. Meanwhile, Egypt’s Hamza Abdelkarim, Ghanaian Caleb Yirenkyi and Malian Ismaël Kamissoko complete a shortlist that reflects the growing presence of African youth talent across different leagues. One of these ten players will succeed Othmane Maamma as the continent’s best young player.
The ten nominees for African Young Player of the Year 2026:
- Yan Diomandé (Côte d’Ivoire – Real Madrid)
- Ayyoub Bouaddi (Morocco – Manchester City)
- Ibrahim Maza (Algeria – Bayer Leverkusen)
- Abdellah Ouazane (Morocco – Ajax Amsterdam)
- Ibrahim Mbaye (Senegal – Aston Villa)
- Christian Kofane (Cameroon – Bayer Leverkusen)
- Christ Inao (Côte d’Ivoire – Fiorentina)
- Hamza Abdelkarim (Egypt – FC Barcelona)
- Caleb Yirenkyi (Ghana – Coventry City)
- Ismaël Kamissoko (Mali – Étoiles Mandé)
