African Player of the Year 1970-2022

My Football Facts ⇒ World Football ⇒ African Football

Full details of the African Player of the Year from 1970 to 2021 including France Football African Player of the Year from 1970 to 1994 and CAF Player of the Year from 1992 to 2022. Includes club affiliations.

France Football African Player of the Year (1970–1993) & CAF African Player of the Year (1993–Present)


Year	Place	Player	Nationality		Club
1970	1st	Salif Keïta		Mali	AS Saint-Etienne
		2nd	Laurent Pokou		Côte d'Ivoire	ASEC Abidjan
		3rd	Ali Abugreisha		Egypt	Ismaily SC
1971	1st	Ibrahim Sunday		Ghana	Asante Kotoko
		2nd	Robert Mensah		Ghana	Asante Kotoko
		3rd	François Ndoumbé		Cameroon	Canon Yaounde
1972	1st	Cherif Souleymane		Guinea	Hafia Conakry
		2nd	Tshimen Bwanga		Zaire	TP Mazembe
		3rd	Petit Sory		Guinea	Hafia Conakry
1973	1st	Tshimen Bwanga		Zaire	TP Mazembe
		2nd	Mwamba Kazadi		Zaire	TP Mazembe
		3rd	Laurent Pokou		Côte d'Ivoire	ASEC Abidjan
1974	1st	Paul Moukila		PR Congo	CARA Brazzaville
		2nd	Boba Lobilo		Zaire	AS Vita Kinshasa
		3rd	Hassan Shehata		Egypt	El Zamalek
1994	1st	George Weah		Liberia	Paris Saint-Germain
		2nd	Emmanuel Amunike		Nigeria	Sporting CP / El Zamalek
		3rd	Daniel Amokachi		Nigeria	Everton / Club Brugge
1975	1st	Ahmed Faras		Morocco	Chabab Mohammédia
		2nd	Roger Milla		Cameroon	Tonnerre Yaoundé
		2nd		N'Jolea		Guinea	Hafia Conakry
1976	1st	Roger Milla		Cameroon	Tonnerre Yaoundé
		2nd	Papa Camara		Guinea	Hafia Conakry
		3rd	Ali Bencheikh		Algeria	MC Alger
1977	1st	Tarak Dhiab		Tunisia	Espérance Tunis
		2nd	Papa Camara		Guinea	Hafia Conakry
		3rd	Segun Odegbami		Nigeria	Shooting Stars
1978	1st	Karim Abdul Razak		Ghana	Asante Kotoko
		2nd	Ali Bencheikh		Algeria	MC Alger
		3rd	Thomas N'kono		Cameroon	Canon Yaounde
1979	1st	Thomas Nkono		Cameroon	Canon Yaoundé
		2nd	Adolf Armah		Ghana	Hearts of Oak
		3rd	Kerfalla Bangoura		Guinea	Horoya Conakry
1980	1st	Jean Manga-Onguene		Cameroon	Canon Yaounde
		2nd	Segun Odegbami		Nigeria	Shooting Stars
		3rd	Théophile Abega		Cameroon	Canon Yaounde
1981	1st	Lakhdar Belloumi		Algeria	GC Mascara
		2nd	Thomas N'kono		Cameroon	Canon Yaounde
		3rd	Ali Fergani		Algeria	Montpellier HSC / JS Kabylie
1982	1st	Thomas N'kono		Cameroon	Espanyol
		2nd	Salah Assad		Algeria	Mulhouse
		3rd	Lakhdar Belloumi		Algeria	GC Mascara
1983	1st	Mahmoud Al-Khatib		Egypt	Al-Ahly
		2nd	Opoku Nti		Ghana	Asante Kotoko
		3rd	Rafiou Moutairou		Togo	OC Agaza Lome
1984	1st	Théophile Abega		Cameroon	Toulouse
		2nd	Joseph-Antoine Bell		Cameroon	Al-Mokawloon al-Arab
		2nd		Ibrahim Youssef		Egypt	El Zamalek
1985	1st	Mohammed Timoumi		Morocco	FAR Rabat
		2nd	Rabah Madjer		Algeria	Porto
		3rd	Djamel Menad		Algeria	JS Kabylie
		3rd		Ibrahim Youssef		Egypt	El Zamalek
1986	1st	Badou Zaki		Morocco	Mallorca
		2nd	Aziz Bouderbala		Morocco	Sion
		3rd	Roger Milla		Cameroon	Montpellier / Saint-Étienne
1987	1st	Rabah Madjer		Algeria	Porto
		2nd	Youssouf Fofana		Côte d'Ivoire	Monaco
		3rd	Francois Oman-Biyik		Cameroon	Stade Laval
1988	1st	Kalusha Bwalya		Zambia	Cercle Brugge
		2nd	Roger Milla		Cameroon	Montpellier
		3rd	Youssouf Fofana		Côte d'Ivoire	Monaco
1989	1st	George Weah		Liberia	Monaco
		2nd	Joseph-Antoine Bell		Cameroon	Bordeaux / Toulon
		3rd	Kalusha Bwalya		Zambia	PSV Eindhoven
1990	1st	Roger Milla		Cameroon	Saint-Denis
		2nd	Tahar Cherif El-Ouazani		Algeria	MC Oran / Aydınspor
		3rd	Rabah Madjer		Algeria	Porto
		3rd		Francois Oman-Biyik		Cameroon	Stade Laval
1991	1st	Abedi Pele		Ghana	Marseille
		2nd	George Weah		Liberia	Monaco
		3rd	Francois Oman-Biyik		Cameroon	Cannes
1992	1st	Abedi Pele		Ghana	Marseille
		2nd	George Weah		Liberia	Paris Saint-Germain / Monaco
		3rd	Anthony Yeboah		Ghana	Eintracht Frankfurt
1993	1st	Abedi Pele		Ghana	Marseille
		2nd	Anthony Yeboah		Ghana	Eintracht Frankfurt
		3rd	Rashidi Yekini		Nigeria	Vitória de Setúbal

CAF African Player of the Year (1993–Present)
Year	Place	Player	Nationality
1993	1st	Abedi Pele		Ghana	Marseille
		2nd	Rashidi Yekini		Liberia	Monaco
		3rd	Tony Yeboah		Cameroon	Cannes
1994	1st	Emmanuel Amunike		Nigeria	Sporting CP / El Zamalek
		2nd	George Weah		Liberia	Paris Saint-Germain
		2nd		Rashidi Yekini		Nigeria	Olympiacos / Vitória de Setúbal
1995	1st	George Weah		Liberia	Milan / Paris Saint-Germain
		2nd	Emmanuel Amunike		Nigeria	Sporting CP
		3rd	Daniel Amokachi		Nigeria	Everton
1996	1st	Nwankwo Kanu		Nigeria	Ajax / Internazionale
		2nd	George Weah		Liberia	Milan
		3rd	Daniel Amokachi		Nigeria	Beşiktaş / Everton
1997	1st	Victor Ikpeba		Nigeria	Monaco
		2nd	Japhet N'Doram		Chad	Monaco / Nantes
		3rd	Taribo West		Nigeria	Internazionale / Auxerre
1998	1st	Mustapha Hadji		Morocco	Deportivo La Coruña
		2nd	Jay-Jay Okocha		Nigeria	Paris Saint-Germain / Fenerbahçe
		3rd	Sunday Oliseh		Nigeria	Ajax
1999	1st	Nwankwo Kanu		Nigeria	Arsenal
		2nd	Samuel Kuffour		Ghana	Bayern Munich
		3rd	Ibrahima Bakayoko		Côte d'Ivoire	Marseille
2000	1st	Patrick Mboma		Cameroon	Parma / Cagliari
		2nd	Lauren Etame Mayer		Cameroon	Mallorca
		3rd	Samuel Eto'o		Cameroon	Mallorca
2001	1st	El Hadji Diouf		Senegal	Lens
		2nd	Samuel Kuffour		Ghana	Bayern Munich
		3rd	Samuel Eto'o		Cameroon	Mallorca
2002	1st	El Hadji Diouf		Senegal	Liverpool / Lens
		2nd	Papa Bouba Diop		Senegal	Lens
		3rd	Mido		Egypt	Ajax
2003	1st	Samuel Eto'o		Cameroon	Mallorca
		2nd	Jay-Jay Okocha		Nigeria	Bolton Wanderers
		3rd	Didier Drogba		Côte d'Ivoire	Marseille / Guingamp
2004	1st	Samuel Eto'o		Cameroon	Barcelona / Mallorca
		2nd	Didier Drogba		Côte d'Ivoire	Chelsea / Marseille
		3rd	Jay-Jay Okocha		Nigeria	Bolton Wanderers
2005	1st	Samuel Eto'o		Cameroon	Barcelona
		2nd	Didier Drogba		Côte d'Ivoire	Chelsea
		3rd	Michael Essien		Ghana	Chelsea / Lyon
2006	1st	Didier Drogba		Côte d'Ivoire	Chelsea
		2nd	Samuel Eto'o		Cameroon	Barcelona
		3rd	Michael Essien		Ghana	Chelsea
2007	1st	Frédéric Kanouté		Mali	Sevilla
		2nd	Michael Essien		Ghana	Chelsea
		3rd	Didier Drogba		Côte d'Ivoire	Chelsea
2008	1st	Emmanuel Adebayor		Togo	Arsenal
		2nd	Mohamed Aboutrika		Egypt	Al-Ahly
		3rd	Michael Essien		Ghana	Chelsea
2009	1st	Didier Drogba		Côte d'Ivoire	Chelsea
		2nd	Samuel Eto'o		Cameroon	Internazionale / Barcelona
		3rd	Michael Essien		Ghana	Chelsea
2010	1st	Samuel Eto'o		Cameroon	Internazionale
		2nd	Asamoah Gyan		Ghana	Sunderland / Stade Rennais
		3rd	Didier Drogba		Côte d'Ivoire	Chelsea
2011	1st	Yaya Touré		Côte d'Ivoire	Manchester City
		2nd	Seydou Keita		Mali	Barcelona
		3rd	André Ayew		Ghana	Olympique de Marseille
2012	1st	Yaya Touré		Côte d'Ivoire	Manchester City
		2nd	Didier Drogba		Côte d'Ivoire	Chelsea / Shanghai Shenhua
		3rd	Alex Song		Cameroon	Arsenal / FC Barcelona
2013	1st	Yaya Touré		Côte d'Ivoire	Manchester City
		2nd	John Obi Mikel		Nigeria	Chelsea
		3rd	Didier Drogba		Côte d'Ivoire	Shanghai Shenhua / Galatasaray
2014	1st	Yaya Touré		Côte d'Ivoire	Manchester City
		2nd	Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang		Gabon	Borussia Dortmund
		3rd	Vincent Enyeama		Nigeria	Lille
2015	1st	Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang		Gabon	Borussia Dortmund
		2nd	Yaya Touré		Côte d'Ivoire	Manchester City
		3rd	André Ayew		Ghana	Swansea City
2016	1st	Riyad Mahrez		Algeria	Leicester City
		2nd	Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang		Gabon	Borussia Dortmund
		3rd	Sadio Mané		Senegal	Liverpool
2017	1st	Mohamed Salah		Egypt	Liverpool
		2nd	Sadio Mané		Senegal	Liverpool
		3rd	Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang		Gabon	Borussia Dortmund
2018	1st	Mohamed Salah		Egypt	Liverpool
		2nd	Sadio Mané		Senegal	Liverpool
		3rd	Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang		Gabon	Arsenal
2019	1st	Sadio Mané		Senegal	Liverpool
		2nd	Mohamed Salah		Egypt	Liverpool
		3rd	Riyad Mahrez		Algeria	Manchester City
2022	1st	Sadio Mané		Senegal	Bayern Munich
		2nd	Mohamed Salah		Egypt	Liverpool
		3rd	Édouard Mendy		Algeria	Manchester City

African Player of the Year Winners


No	Player	Nationality
4	Samuel Eto'o		Cameroon
4	Yaya Touré		Côte d'Ivoire
3	Abedi Pele		Ghana
3	George Weah		Liberia
2	Didier Drogba		Côte d'Ivoire
2	El Hadji Diouf		Senegal
2	Nwankwo Kanu		Nigeria
2	Roger Milla		Cameroon
2	Sadio Mané		Senegal
2	Thomas Nkono		Cameroon
1	Ahmed Faras		Morocco
1	Badou Zaki		Morocco
1	Cherif Souleymane		Guinea
1	Emmanuel Adebayor		Togo
1	Emmanuel Amunike		Nigeria
1	Frédéric Kanouté		Mali
1	Ibrahim Sunday		Ghana
1	Jean Manga-Onguene		Cameroon
1	Kalusha Bwalya		Zambia
1	Karim Abdul Razak		Ghana
1	Lakhdar Belloumi		Algeria
1	Mahmoud Al-Khatib		Egypt
1	Mohammed Timoumi		Morocco
1	Mustapha Hadji		Morocco
1	Patrick Mboma		Cameroon
1	Paul Moukila		PR Congo
1	Rabah Madjer		Algeria
1	Rashidi Yekini		Nigeria
1	Salif Keïta		Mali
1	Tarak Dhiab		Tunisia
1	Théophile Abega		Cameroon
1	Thomas N'kono		Cameroon
1	Tshimen Bwanga		Zaire
1	Victor Ikpeba		Nigeria

African Player of the Year by Club


No	Club
4		Manchester City
3		Mallorca
3		Olympique de Marseille
2		Arsenal
2		AS Monaco
2		Asante Kotoko
2		Barcelona
2		Canon Yaoundé
2		Chelsea
2		Internazionale
2		Lens
2		Liverpool
2		Paris Saint-Germain
2		AC Milan
2		Ajax
2		Al-Ahly
2		AS Saint-Etienne
1		Bayern Munich
1		Cagliari
1		CARA Brazzaville
1		Cercle Brugge
1		Chabab Mohammédia
1		Deportivo La Coruña
1		El Zamalek
1		Espanyol
1		Espérance Tunis
1		FAR Rabat
1		FC Porto
1		GC Mascara
1		Hafia Conakry
1		Parma
1		Saint-Denis
1		Sevilla
1		Sporting CP
1		Tonnerre Yaoundé
1		Toulouse
1		TP Mazembe
1		Vitória de Setúbal

African Player of the Year by Nationality



Nationalities
No.	Nationality
11	Cameroon
6	Côte d'Ivoire
6	Ghana
5	Nigeria
4	Morocco
4	Senegal
3	Algeria
3	Egypt
3	Liberia
2	Mali
1	PR Congo
1	Guinea
1	Togo
1	Tunisia
1	Zaire
1	Zambia