3 reasons Victor Osimhen missed out on 2026 CAF Best Player award

Victor Osimhen has missed out on the 10-man shortlist for the 2026 CAF Men’s Player of the Year award despite an impressive year with Galatasaray.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced the shortlist on Wednesday, November 4, leaving out the Nigerian striker alongside compatriot Ademola Lookman and Egypt captain Mohamed Salah.

Osimhen contributed 43 goals and assists across several competitions in 2026 and helped Galatasaray win the Turkish Süper Lig. He also collected individual honours and set several records during the year.

Three possible factors for Osimhen’s exclusion include Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Super Eagles’ third-place finish at AFCON 2025 and Osimhen’s presence in the Turkish league.

CAF Awards 2026: Why Victor Osimhen missed out

1. Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup

Nigeria’s World Cup qualifying campaign ended in disappointment after the Super Eagles lost to the Democratic Republic of the Congo on penalties in the African play-off final.

The defeat denied the Super Eagles a place at the 2026 tournament, leaving Victor Osimhen without the chance to compete on football’s biggest international stage.

The Galatasaray striker played a key role in Nigeria’s attack during qualifying, but the team’s failure to reach the finals counted against the campaign as a whole.

All the ten footballers who made CAF’s Player of the Year shortlist participated at the 2026 World Cup, where Morocco, Ghana, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire and South Africa reached the knockout rounds.

2. Nigeria finished third at AFCON 2025

Victor Osimhen also helped Nigeria win bronze at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, which concluded in January 2026.

The striker earned a place in the tournament’s Best XI after a strong campaign, but the Super Eagles fell short of winning the title.

Several players from the two finalists Morocco and Senegal made the CAF shortlist, including Achraf Hakimi, Brahim Díaz, Ismaïla Sarr, Pape Gueye and Sadio Mané.

Success with national teams has always played a big part in the selection process for the CAF Player of the Year award.

However, Osimhen’s selection in the AFCON Best XI showed that he performed well during the tournament. That achievement, alongside his club form, gave him a strong case for consideration.

3. Victor Osimhen plays outside Europe’s top five leagues

Osimhen’s move from Napoli to Galatasaray has taken him out of Europe’s traditional top five leagues.

The Turkish Süper Lig is competitive, but it does not have the same global profile as the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A, German Bundesliga and French Ligue 1.

Several shortlisted players feature in those competitions. Amad Diallo plays for Manchester United, Yoane Wissa represents Brentford, while Hakimi and Díaz play for Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid respectively.

Performances in these leagues attract considerable attention because of their global audiences and the quality of their opposition. That exposure can help players build stronger cases for individual awards.

Osimhen, however, has continued to score regularly in Turkey and has delivered important performances in the Champions League.

Why Victor Osimhen deserved a place on the shortlist

Victor Osimhen’s achievements in 2026 make his omission difficult to understand.

He played a key role in Galatasaray’s Turkish Süper Lig title win, helping the Istanbul club secure back-to-back league championships.

In January 2026, he became the fastest player in Galatasaray’s history to score 50 goals, reaching the milestone in 59 appearances. He also became the first Nigerian to score 10 goals in the Champions League and surpassed Obafemi Martins as Nigeria’s leading scorer in European club competitions.

His individual honours included the 2026 Milliyet Footballer of the Year award and Transfermarkt’s Turkish league Player of the Season recognition.

Osimhen has carried that form into the 2026-27 campaign, scoring nine goals and providing three assists in his first eight Süper Lig appearances. He has also scored in the Champions League against Lille.

With 43 goal contributions in 2026, a league title and several personal milestones, the Nigerian striker had a strong case for a place among Africa’s leading players.

CAF Awards 2026: Full 10-man shortlist

CAF’s final list features 10 players from seven countries.

Player	Country	Club
Amad Diallo	Côte d’Ivoire	Manchester United
Yoane Wissa	DR Congo	Newcastle United
Antoine Semenyo	Ghana	Manchester City
Ismael Saibari	Morocco	Bayern Munich
Achraf Hakimi	Morocco	Paris Saint-Germain
Brahim Díaz	Morocco	Real Madrid
Ismaïla Sarr	Senegal	Crystal Palace
Pape Gueye	Senegal	Villarreal
Sadio Mané	Senegal	Al-Nassr
Teboho Mokoena	South Africa	Mamelodi Sundowns

Osimhen and Lookman among the notable omissions

Osimhen was not the only Nigerian forward left out of the shortlist. Ademola Lookman also missed out, alongside several other prominent African players.

Mohamed Salah, Serhou Guirassy, Riyad Mahrez, Bryan Mbeumo, Ibrahim Maza, Yan Diomandé, Ayoub Bouaddi, Nicolas Jackson, Omar Marmoush, Bilal El Khannouss, Rayan Aït-Nouri, Mohammed Kudus and Anis Hadj Moussa were also absent.

Morocco and PSG defender Achraf Hakimi is the reigning CAF Player of the Year and the favourite to land the top prize again this year.

Africa’s best player of the year will be announced at 2026 CAF Awards set to take place on Monday, December 7, at a ceremony that will be hosted at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts (formerly known as the National Theatre) in Lagos, Nigeria.