The Moroccan Al-Montakhab – National Team- news outlet published the list of the top 10 African football players competing for the 16th Lion D’Or (Golden Lions) award on Monday.
The award is given to the best men’s football players from the September 2023 to September 2024 period.
The players are short-listed based on a set of criteria, including the titles the player has won with both his national team and club, the influence of the player on both his national team and club, as well as his sportsmanship and public image.
The list of the top ten candidates nominated for the Lion D’Or include:
- Mohamed Salah (Egypt, Liverpool)
- Brahim Diaz (Morocco, Real Madrid)
- Victor Boniface (Nigeria, Bayer Leverkusen)
- Franck Kessié (Cote d’Ivoire, Al-Ahli)
- Ayoub El Kaabi (Morocco, Olympiacos)
- Ronwen Williams (South Africa, Sundowns)
- Ademola Lookman (Nigeria-Atalanta)
- Achraf Hakimi (Morocco-Paris Saint-Germain)
- Mohamed Abdelmonem (Egypt, Al Ahly/Nice)
- Soufiane Rahimi (Morocco-Al Ain)
Last year, Moroccan international and Morocco’s national team, the Atlas Lions, goalkeeper Yassine Bounou received the 2023 Award for his exceptional tenure.
Together with the Atlas Lions, Bounou led the Moroccan national football team to the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. The monumental achievement made Morocco the first African nation to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup.