African Footballer of the Year - The African Mirror

Dec

2023

Nigeria striker Osimhen crowned African Footballer of the Year

NIGERIA striker Victor Osimhen has been named African Footballer of the Year after beating Mohamed Salah to the award at a ceremony in Marrakech, with compatriot Asisat Oshoala winning the top prize in the women’s category. Osimhen, 24, scored 26 goals as he helped Napoli to a surprise triumph in Serie A last season and was the leading marksman in Italy’s top division. Egypt's Liverpool forward Salah and Morocco's Paris St Germain right-back Achraf Hakimi were the other two final nominees but Osimhen claimed the prize to become the first Nigerian winner since Nwankwo Kanu in 1999. "It is a…

Nov

2023

By MARK GLEESON

Centurion Mane celebrates with two goals in Senegal win

FOOTBALL

SADIO Mane marked his 100th cap for Senegal with two goals as they began their World Cup qualifying campaigning with a comfortable 4-0 home victory over South Sudan. There were also wins for South Africa, who edged Benin 2-1 at home in Durban, and Tanzania, who won 1-0 away to Niger. Mane, twice African Footballer of the Year, set up the opening goal in the first minute for Pape Matar Sarr and grabbed one himself five minutes later, with veteran midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye the provider. A third Senegalese goal followed on the stroke of halftime of the Group B…

Nov

2022

By The African Mirror

Mane living the dream of millions of Africans

NEWS

MARK GLEESON SADIO Mane is the embodiment of the dreams of millions of young Africans, emerging from a small village in Senegal to play at the highest level in Europe and become an international icon. The diminutive attacker defied his family, who did not want him to play soccer, to sneak away from his home village of Bambali to join an academy in the capital Dakar and then catapult his way into club football. He has gone on to help his country to successive World Cup tournaments, win a first Africa Cup of Nations title and, at club level with…

Jul

2022

By The African Mirror

Superstars Sadio Mané and Mo Salah eclipse African football at home

SPORT

SENEGAL’S Sadio Mané and Egypt’s Mo Salah are among 10 players nominated for the African Footballer of the Year prize at this year’s Caf Awards held by the Confederation of African Football in Rabat, Morocco. Both players rose to global prominence playing for Liverpool in the English Premier League, propelling the club to three champions league finals and winning a title. Both have won Caf player of the year before, Salah twice in 2017 and 2018, and Mané once in 2019. Now Mané is poised to even the score at 2-2. Star forwards, their pursuits on the field are the…

Jul

2022

By The African Mirror

Mane heads list of nominees for African Footballer of the Year

SPORT

SADIO MANE heads a list of 10 nominees for the African Footballer of the Year award, to be handed out later this month for the first time in three years, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced. Mane, who won the last award in 2019, will be favoured to win again after a season in which he helped Senegal to their first Africa Cup of Nations title plus qualification to the World Cup in Qatar. He also had cup success with Liverpool at club level but has since moved to Bayern Munich. His former teammates Naby Keita and Mohamed Salah…