Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen, Cameroon’s André Onana, and Morocco’s Yassine Bounou are the only African players shortlisted for the eighth edition of The Best FIFA Football Awards announced on Thursday by FIFA.
Osimhen was the only African in the 12-man list that included Argentina’s Lionel Messi and France’s Kylian Mbappe, for the 2023 Best FIFA Men’s Player award category, while Onana, Manchester United’s shot-stopper, and Bounou were named among the 5-man Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper nominees. The Moroccan goalkeeper was instrumental in his country’s fairy-tale run to the 2022 FIFA World Cup semifinals in Qatar.
Last season, Osimhen scored 25 goals to emerge the league’s top scorer and lead Napoli to its first Serie A title in 33 years. The Nigerian, who became the first African to emerge highest goal scorer in the Italian league, also broke George Weah’s 24-year record of 46 goals for the most goals scored by an African in Serie A. He is also the highest goal scorer in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers with 10 goals.
According to FIFA. the nominees were shortlisted by a panel of football experts who reviewed longer lists compiled by FIFA based on the candidates’ achievements during the respective award eligibility periods (see below). Voting is now open across the various categories, with the international jury being comprised of national team captains and coaches, journalists, and fans from all over the world.
Here are the full lists of nominees for the 2023 Best FIFA Football Awards.
The Best FIFA Men’s Player Nominees
Julián Álvarez (Argentina); Marcelo Brozović (Croatia); Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium); İlkay Gündoğan (Germany); Erling Haaland (Norway); Rodrigo (Rodri) Hernández Cascante (Spain); Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Georgia); Kylian Mbappé (France); Lionel Messi (Argentina); Victor Osimhen (Nigeria); Declan Rice (England); Bernardo Silva (Portugal).
The Best FIFA Women’s Player Nominees
Aitana Bonmatí (Spain); Linda Caicedo (Colombia); Rachel Daly (England); Kadidiatou Diani (France); Caitlin Foord (Australia); Mary Fowler (Australia); Alex Greenwood (England); Jennifer Hermoso (Spain); Lindsey Horan (USA); Amanda Ilestedt (Sweden); Lauren James (England); Sam Kerr (Australia); Mapi León (Spain); Hinata Miyazawa (Japan); Salma Paralluelo (Spain); Keira Walsh (England).
The Best FIFA Women’s Coach Nominees
Peter Gerhardsson (Sweden): Jonatan Giráldez (Spain); Tony Gustavsson (Sweden); Emma Hayes (England); Sarina Wiegman (Netherlands).
The Best FIFA Men’s Coach Nominees
Pep Guardiola (Spain); Simone Inzaghi (Italy); Ange Postecoglou (Australia); Luciano Spalletti (Italy); Xavi (Spain).
The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper Nominees
Mackenzie Arnold (Australia); Ann-Katrin Berger (Germany); Catalina Coll (Spain); Mary Earps (England); Christiane Endler (Chile); Zećira Mušović (Sweden); Sandra Paños García-Villamil (Spain).
The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper Nominees
Yassine Bounou (Morocco); Thibaut Courtois (Belgium); Ederson (Brazil); André Onana (Cameroon); Marc-André ter Stegen (Germany).
The FIFA Fan Award Nominees
Club Atlético Colón de Santa Fe fan (Argentina); Fran Hurndall (England); Miguel Ángel, Millonarios fan (Colombia).
