Five African players are vying to win the Ballon d’Or, one of the most prestigious awards in the football world.
Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen, Egypt’s Mohamed Salah, Cameroon’s Andre Onana, and Morocco’s Yassine Bounou have dazzled their way to the 2023 men’s shortlist, after impressing football fans and pundits over the past season.
They are up against global favourites such as Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, and Lionel Messi.
Asisat Oshoala, a forward for the Nigerian national women’s football team and the Spanish club FC Barcelona, is the only woman from the continent nominated in the female category.
She has won the Confederation of African Footballer’s African Women’s Player of the Year award a stunning five times.
The Ballon d’Or is an annual celebration of the most exceptional footballing talent of the season and the winners this year will be announced at a ceremony in Paris on 30 October.
To date, Liberian President George Weah remains the only African to have won the Ballon d’Or, which he did as an AC Milan player in 1995.
Source: BBC
