Five Moroccan players are in a list of 34 players that will compete for the award of the Player of the Year in Africa, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced. These players are Mehdi Benatia (Juventus), Hakim Ziyech (Ajax Amsterdam), Ayoub El Kaabi (Hebei China Fortune), Ismail Haddad (Wydad Athletic club) and Mahmoud Benhalib (Raja Club Athletic). In the category of Youth Player of the Year, Moroccan Achraf Hakimi (Borussia Dortmund) is among the nominees. Moroccan football team's coach, Hervé Renard, is also among the nominees for Men's Coach of the Year. Thirty-four (34) players and 15 women players have been nominated for the flagship awards; Player of the Year and Women's Player of the Year based on the performance of the players during the year. The winners for the African Player of the Year and Women's Player of the Year will be decided by CAF Technical & Development Committee, media experts, legends, coaches of the quarter-finalists of the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup and coaches and captains of the national teams of the 54 Member Associations. The Awards Gala, to honour footballers and officials who distinguished themselves during the year under review, will be held on Tuesday, 8 January 2019 in Dakar, Senegal.
