Sadio Mane, Asisat Oshoala win African Player of the Year Awards
Senegalese Sadio Mane and Nigerian Asisat Oshoala have been awarded the African Player of the Year awards during the 2022 Confederation of African Football (CAF) awards hosted in Rabat, Morocco’s capital.
Mane was awarded the African Footballer of the Year, in recognition of his performance for his home country.
The football forward scored the penalty for Senegal that won them their first Africa Cup of Nations championship and replicated the performance to qualify them for World Cup.
Mane who recently agreed to a three-year contract with German powerhouse Bayern Munich, received the award for the first time in 2019 while playing for English club Liverpool.
“I dedicate this award to the youth of Senegal. I’m very emotional and don’t have the words to express how I’m feeling,” he said.
He edged fellow Senegalese Edouard Mendy, a goalkeeper for Chelsea, and former Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah of Egypt, to clip the title.
Oshoala won the female equivalent of the award, taking on her record African Women’s Player of the Year award for the fifth time.
The Barcelona club football player beat out Grace Chanda (Zambia/BIIK Kazygurt) and Ajara Nchout Njoya (Cameroon/Inter Milan) for the prize, surpassing her fellow countrywoman, Perpetual Nkwocha for the most African Women’s Player of the Year award winner.
Nkwocha, who played with the Super Falcons from 1999 to 2015 was the leading title holder with four of the awards to her name. She received her honours in 2004, 2005, 2010, and 2011.
However, following Oshoala’s recent win, she outmatched Nkwocha’s four-time record. Oshoala had previously received the awards in 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2019.
Due to an injury, she was compelled to miss the current Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
READ ALSO: CAF Awards 2022: Full List of Winners
Abeeb Lekan Sodiq is a Managing Editor & Writer at theafricandream.net. He is as well a Graphics Designer and also known as Arakunrin Lekan.
