SAFA well recognised at the nomination for the 2026 CAF Awards – South African Football Association

4 November 2026 – The South African Football Association (SAFA) was well represented in the nominations for the 2026 CAF Awards after the continental body announced the candidates on Wednesday.

CAF said the nominations are in recognition of a remarkable year for African football, highlighted by the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco in December last year, the continent’s record-breaking participation at the FIFA World Cup 2026 and the CAF Interclub competitions.

Bafana Bafana reached the second round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup – held in the United States of America, Mexico and Canada – a few weeks ago while Mamelodi Sundowns won their second CAF Champions League title after beating Morocco’s FAR Rabat 2–1 on aggregate in the final on May 24, 2026.

The continent was represented by a record 10 countries at the tournament with nine reaching the Round of 32 in an unprecedented collective achievement. Ronwen Williams, Khuliso Mudau and  Teboho Mokoena were recognised for their superb performances for both club and country  after winning the CAF Champions League and also starring for Bafana Bafana. The awards ceremony will take place in Lagos, Nigeria, on Monday, 07 December 2026.

Bafana Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane will carry the momentum forward on Thursday, 5 November 2026 when he announces his final squad for this month’s back-to-back 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Kenya.

The South African senior men’s national team will host coach Benni McCarthy’s side at Orlando Amstel Arena in Johannesburg on Friday, 13 November 2026 before traveling to Nairobi on the same day for the second match to be played on Tuesday, 17 November 2026. Kick off at Orlando is at 18h00.

CAF announced that 10 nominees have been selected in each of the seven Men’s categories: Player of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year, Interclub Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Young Player of the Year, National Team of the Year and Club of the Year.

Full list of nominations:

Player of the Year

·       Teboho Mokoena (South Africa/Mamelodi Sundowns)

·       Amad Diallo (Côte d’Ivoire/Manchester United)

·       Yoane Wissa (DR Congo/Newcastle United)

·       Antoine Semenyo (Ghana/Manchester City)

·       Ismael Saibari (Morocco/Bayern Munich)

·       Achraf Hakimi (Morocco/Paris Saint-Germain)

·       Brahim Diaz (Morocco/Real Madrid)

·       Ismaila Sarr (Senegal/Crystal Palace)

·       Pape Gueye (Senegal/Villarreal)

·       Sadio Mané (Senegal/Al-Nassr)

Goalkeeper of the Year

·       Ronwen Williams (South Africa/Mamelodi Sundowns)

·       Oussama Benbot (Algeria/USM Alger)

·       Josimar José Évora Dias ‘Vozinha’ (Cabo Verde/Colo-Colo)

·       Yahia Fofana (Côte d’Ivoire/Rizespor)

·       Lionel Mpasi (DR Congo/Le Havre)

·       El-Mahdi Soliman (Egypt/Zamalek)

·       Mostafa Shobeir (Egypt/Al Ahly)

·       Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti (Morocco/AS FAR)

·       Yassine Bonou (Morocco/Al Hilal)

·       Edouard Mendy (Senegal/Al Ahli)

Interclub Player of the Year

·       Khuliso Mudau (South Africa/Mamelodi Sundowns)

·       Teboho Mokoena (South Africa/Mamelodi Sundowns)

·       Abdennour Belhocini (Algeria/CR Belouizdad)

·       Ahmed Khaldi (Algeria/USM Alger)

·       Mahmoud Hassan ‘Trezeguet’ (Egypt/Al Ahly)

·       Mohamed Shehata (Egypt/Zamalek)

·       Mohamed Rabie Hrimat (Morocco/AS FAR)

·       Mounir Chouiar (Morocco/RS Berkane)

·       Sofiane El Moudane (Morocco/Olympic Safi)

·       Abdel Raouf (Sudan/Al Hilal)

Coach of the Year

·       Miguel Cardoso (Mamelodi Sundowns)

·       Lamine N’Diaye (USM Alger)

·       Pedro Leitão Brito ‘Bubista’ (Cabo Verde)

·       Sébastien Desabre (DR Congo)

·       Hossam Hassan (Egypt)

·       Moatamed Gamal (Zamalek)

·       Alexandre Santos (AS FAR)

·       Mohamed Ouahbi (Morocco)

·       Walid Regragui (Morocco)

·       Pape Thiaw (Senegal)

Young Player of the Year

·       Ibrahim Maza (Algeria/Bayer Leverkusen)

·       Christian Kofane (Cameroon/Bayer Leverkusen)

·       Christ Inao (Côte d’Ivoire/Fiorentina)

·       Yan Diomande (Côte d’Ivoire/Real Madrid)

·       Hamza Abdelkarim (Egypt/Barcelona)

·       Caleb Yirenkyi (Ghana/Coventry City)

·       Ismael Kamissoko (Mali/Etoiles Mandé)

·       Abdellah Ouazane (Morocco/Ajax)

·       Ayoub Bouaddi (Morocco/Manchester City)

·       Ibrahim Mbaye (Senegal/Aston Villa)

National Team of the Year

·       South Africa

·       Algeria

·       Cabo Verde

·       Côte d’Ivoire

·       DR Congo

·       Egypt

·       Ghana

·       Morocco

·       Senegal

·       Tunisia

Club of the Year

·       Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)

·       CR Belouizdad (Algeria)

·       USM Alger (Algeria)

·       AS Maniema (DR Congo)

·       Zamalek (Egypt)

·       AS FAR (Morocco)

·       Olympic Safi (Morocco)

·       RS Berkane (Morocco)

·       Al Hilal (Sudan)

·       Espérance Sportive de Tunis (Tunisia)

South African Football: Orlando Pirates won the CAF Champions League in 1995 , becoming the first South African team to do so.