SME
The Moroccan newspaper “Al-Mountakhab” revealed a list of 10 African players who will compete for the 16th edition of the Golden Lion Award, which will be given to the best African football player for the period from September 2023 to September 2024.
The ten African players were selected based on a set of criteria, including the titles achieved by the player with his national team and with his club, the degree of influence the player shows with his national team and with his club, in addition to commitment to the values of sportsmanship and the strength of the image he projects about himself.
Here is a list of the 10 players selected by the newspaper’s editorial board:
• Mohamed Salah (Egypt – Liverpool)
• Brahim Diaz (Morocco – Real Madrid)
• Victor Boniface (Nigeria – Bayer Leverkusen)
• Franck Kessie (Ivory Coast – Al Ahly)
• Ayoub El Kaabi (Morocco – Olympiacos)
• Ronwen Williams (South Africa – Sundowns)
• Ademola Lukman (Nigeria – Atlanta)
• Achraf Hakimi (Morocco – Paris Saint-Germain)
• Mohamed Abdelmonem (Egypt – Al Ahly / Nice)
• Sofiane Rahimi (Morocco – Al Ain)
• The historical record of the award
2004: Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon – Barcelona)
2005: Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast – Chelsea)
2006: Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast – Chelsea)
2007: Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast – Chelsea)
2008: Mohamed Aboutrika (Egypt – Al Ahly)
2009: Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon – Inter Milan)
2010: Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon – Inter Milan)
2011: Seydou Keita (Mali – Barcelona)
2012: Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast – Shanghai)
2013: Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast – Manchester City)
2014: Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast – Manchester City)
2015: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon – Dortmund)
2016: Riyad Mahrez (Algeria – Leicester City)
2017: Mohamed Salah (Egypt – Liverpool)
2023: Yassine Bounou (Morocco – Sevilla / Al Hilal
