African Footballer of the Year: complete winners list

The African Footballer of the Year award, often called the African Ballon d'Or, honours the best player on the continent every year. From Salif Keïta in 1970 to Achraf Hakimi in 2025, it has crowned the greatest legends of African football. Here is the complete winners list, the records and the most successful countries.

Two awards, one history

There are two different awards to know about:

• France Football's African Ballon d'Or, awarded from 1970 to 1994 by the French magazine.
• CAF's African Footballer of the Year, created in 1992, which became the continent's official award. This is the one known today as the "African Ballon d'Or".

Both awards existed side by side from 1992 to 1994, before France Football stopped its own. CAF did not present the award in 2020 and 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

CAF African Footballer of the Year (since 1992)

France Football African Ballon d'Or (1970-1994)

Most successful players

Samuel Eto'o and Yaya Touré, with four CAF awards each, hold the record. Eto'o won it in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2010, while Yaya Touré achieved a unique feat: four consecutive awards, from 2011 to 2014.

Behind them, several players have won the CAF award twice: Nwankwo Kanu, El Hadji Diouf, Didier Drogba, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané. George Weah and Abedi Pelé are also among the most decorated when France Football's and CAF's awards are combined.

Most successful countries (CAF award)

Thanks to Victor Osimhen (2023) and Ademola Lookman (2024), Nigeria has become the most successful country in the history of the CAF award.

Key facts

• The first winner: Mali's Salif Keïta, in 1970, then a star at Saint-Étienne.
• Goalkeepers honoured: Cameroon's Thomas Nkono won twice (1979 and 1982), a rare feat for a goalkeeper. Morocco's Badou Zaki also won, in 1986.
• The first back-to-back CAF winner: El Hadji Diouf, in 2001 and 2002.
• Nigeria's golden streak: with Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman, Nigeria won two consecutive awards in 2023 and 2024.
• Morocco's return: in 2025, Achraf Hakimi gave Morocco its first CAF award since Mustapha Hadji in 1998.

What about 2026?

The next CAF awards will honour performances in 2026. Achraf Hakimi and Sadio Mané, both nominated for the 2026 Ballon d'Or, will be among the contenders to watch.

Who deserves the next African Footballer of the Year award?

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Read more

• Ballon d'Or 2026: Hakimi and Mané, Africa's two nominees
• The 10 greatest African footballers of all time
• AFCON all-time top scorers: the full ranking