CAF Awards

The CAF Awards is an awards evening held to honour the best African association football players. It is conferred by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

History
The CAF Awards was first awarded in the year 2000. It is an award contested by the Confederation of African Football and awarded to the best African player in each category. The African Footballer of the Year award is the oldest CAF award, being awarded since 1992 that witnessed Abedi Pele winning the inaugural award.

Current awards
The awards include:

African National Team of the Year
The team of the year award was organized by France Football from 1980 to 2004, and by CAF from 2004 onwards.


 * Ranking by team

African Women's National Team of the Year
The team of the year award was organized by CAF since 2010.

CAF outstanding achievement award

 * 2023: His Excellency Macky Sall (President of the Republic of Senegal)
 * 2022: His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco

Platinum Award

 * 2019: Kodjovi Obilale (former Togolese goalkeeper)
 * 2018: His Excellency Macky Sall (President of the Republic of Senegal)
 * 2017: Nana Akufo-Addo (President of Ghana)
 * 2017: George Weah (President-elect of Liberia and former World, Africa and European Player of the Year)
 * 2016: Son Excellence Muhammadu Buhari (President of Nigeria)

Defunct awards
The following are no longer awarded.

African Champions League Best Player
Replaced by African Inter-Club Player of the Year (Based in Africa) since 2005.

Previous winners:

Editions
The 2020 and 2021 CAF awards did not take place due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2023 CAF awards took place in Marrakesh, Morocco three months after a deadly earthquake that had struck the city. In order to show solidarity, a friendly match between African Legends took place.

Criticism
In 2023, Algerian footballer Riyad Mahrez was not chosen as a finalist for the award. Mahrez's absence was perceived as a snub by media and the Algerian football community. Algerian manager Abdelhak Benchikha, nominated for Best African Coach, said he would not attend the CAF awards ceremony in solidarity with Mahrez and Algerian club USM Alger. 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.