President of Algerian Football Federation, Walid Sadi has announced the country’s decision to boycott this year’s CAF Awards ceremony, slated for Marrakech, Morocco, later today (Monday).
Sadi declared that he would not be present at the event, which honours the best-performing stars on the African continent, as he and the Algerian FA stand in unity with Algerian national team captain Riyad Mahrez and CAF Super Cup champions USM Alger.
He told Algerian media: “I will not attend the CAF Awards ceremony. I have informed CAF of my decision, and, with the grace of God, no Algerian will be present at this event in solidarity with Riyad Mahrez and the Union Sportive de la Medina d’Alger.”
Mahrez was omitted from the recently released final three-man shortlist for the CAF Player of the Year award, having been a part of the initial 30-man and 10-man lists released by the Confederation of African Football.
The Saudi-based star enjoyed a stellar 2022–23 season where he finished with 17 goals and 19 assists, including winning the treble with Premier League side Manchester City.
Likewise, USM Alger was dropped from the final three-team shortlist for the Men’s Club of the Year honours despite claiming the CAF Confederation Cup and CAF Super Cup titles.
The 2023 CAF Awards, which will take place at the Palais des Congrès in Marrakech, will see one of Victor Osimhen (Nigeria), Mohamed Salah (Egypt), and Achraf Hakimi (Morocco) crowned the winners of the Player of the Year in the men’s category, while Al Ahly, Wydad AC (Morocco) and South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns are in the running for the Club of the Year accolade.
A calendar year to remember.
Club of the Year (MEN) award – Final 3.#CAFAwards2023 pic.twitter.com/sgrC2kve5z
— CAF (@CAF_Online) December 7, 2023
The ultimate winner of each category will be decided after votes of a panel consisting of the CAF Technical Committee, media professionals from member associations, head coaches and captains of member associations, and clubs involved in the group stages of the interclub competitions.
