Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi and Ghizlane Chebbak were named Africa’s top men’s and women’s football players at the 2025 CAF Awards in Rabat. It was a big night for the host nation. Hakimi, 27, won the men’s award ahead of Mohamed Salah and Victor Osimhen. Chebbak took the women’s prize after a strong year for club and country.
Hakimi won the award after helping Paris St-Germain win the French league and their first Champions League title. He scored the first goal in the 5-0 final win over Inter Milan. Chebbak, Morocco’s captain, led the vote after being top scorer at the delayed 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. Details were reported by BBC Sport.
Cape Verde coach Bubista was named men’s coach of the year after taking his team to a first World Cup qualification. Brighton’s Chiamaka Nnadozie won the best women’s goalkeeper for the third year in a row. Morocco also celebrated Othmane Maamma, named men’s young player of the year after winning the golden ball at the Under-20 World Cup.
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Morocco Celebrates Double Win
Hakimi is the first Moroccan to win the men’s award since Mustapha Hadji in 1998. He said it was a proud moment for him and all African players, telling the crowd, “This trophy is not just for me – it is for all the Africans that have dreams.”
He accepted the award while keeping weight off an injured left foot from a game with Bayern Munich. Chebbak made history as the first Moroccan woman to win the award since 2001.
She led her team to the 2024 Wafcon final, scoring a key goal, though Morocco lost 3-2 to Nigeria. She said the win came from years of work, noting, “This is the fruit of a lot of hard work over the years.”
Top Players Across Africa Honoured
Hakimi also won the Uefa Super Cup, Coupe de France, and French Super Cup last season, though PSG lost the Fifa Club World Cup final. He said he is now focused on getting fit for the 2025 Afcon at home, as Morocco seeks its first title since 1976. Nnadozie added another goalkeeper award after strong shows for club and country.
DR Congo’s Fiston Mayele took men’s interclub player of the year after a good season with Pyramids. Young player Maamma said he was proud of Morocco’s Under-20 World Cup success, adding, “We built a team which was able to win the World Cup.” Doha El Madani of AS FAR won women’s young player of the year, adding to Morocco’s strong night.
The event also honoured Kenyan President William Ruto, Tanzania’s Samia Suluhu Hassan, and Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni for hosting the 2024 African Nations Championship. These three countries will co-host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
The full list of winners marked a major night for Moroccan football. Players, coaches, and teams took top awards across many categories as the country gets ready to host its first Afcon in nearly 50 years.
