African football will celebrate the top players, coaches and clubs of 2024 during Monday's CAF Awards ceremony, where Ademola Lookman and Barbra Banda appear on course to be named the men's and women's African Footballer of the Year respectively.
Here, ESPN outline everything you need to know ahead of the event including: When the CAF Awards will take place, the previous CAF Awards winners, and the nominees for this year's awards.
What are the CAF Awards?
Run by the Confederation of African Football - the organising body for football across Africa - the CAF Awards are an annual ceremony to recognise and celebrate the peak of the continent's football across the previous year.
The CAF Awards began in 2000, although the primary award, to name the African Footballer of the Year, was began by CAF in 1992.
Before that, a prize for the continent's outstanding male player of the year was given out by French publication France Football, with Mali's Salif Keita winning the first award in 1970.
In recent years, the ceremony has expanded, with 15 awards set to be given out - seven for women, seven for men, and the goal of the year award - at the 2024 event.
When are the CAF Awards: Date, Time & Location?
The 2024 CAF Awards will take place at the Palais des Congrès in Marrakech, Morocco on Monday December 16.
The ceremony itself is set to begin at 19hoo Moroccan time (18h00 GMT/19h00 Lagos time/20h00 Johannesburg, CAT time/21h00 East African time).
Players and officials are expected to begin arriving at the event 90 minutes before the ceremony begins.
CAF Awards live stream/How to watch?
At the time of writing, CAF are yet to confirm whether they will be providing a CAF Awards live stream. However, based on previous years, the ceremony is likely to be live streamed on the confederation's official website.
In 2023, viewers were available to watch the event live on CAF's official website CAFonline.com, and on the organisation's official YouTube channel: CAF TV.
Last year, over 20 broadcasters - continentally and internationally - showed the ceremony, and this year, SuperSport will be broadcasting on SuperSport Variety 4 in South Africa and SuperSport Africa 1 for the rest of the continent.
CAF Awards voting - how it works
Despite some reports to the contrary, it is generally not possible for African football fans to vote at the CAF Awards. There is only one exception to this; the CAF Goal of the Year, where fans around the world are able to vote on CAF's official site from a shortlist of eleven goals.
Users are able to vote until Thursday December 12, although CAF's dedicated page for this process already appeared to be offline earlier in the week.
The fan vote will count for 70 percent of the overall score, with CAF's Technical Experts' vote accounting for the other 30 percent weighting.
The shortlist only includes goals scored in CAF competitions, while no women have been included in the Technical Experts' shortlist.
CAF Goal of the Year shortlist
Abdul Aziz Issah (Dreams FC) - Dreams FC vs. APC Lobito (CAF Confederation Cup)
Aboubakary Koita (Mauritania) - Mauritania vs. Angola (Africa Cup of Nations)
Denis Omedi (Kitara FC) - Kitara FC vs. KCCA FC (FUFA Super 8)
Ibrahim Adel (Egypt) - Mauritania vs. Egypt (AFCON Qualifier)
Kevin Pina (Cape Verde) - Cape Verde vs. Mozambique (Africa Cup of Nations)
Cristovao Mabululu (Angola) - Angola vs. Namibia (Africa Cup of Nations)
Nene Dorgeles (Mali) - Mali vs. Cote d'Ivoire (Africa Cup of Nations)
Saïd Benrahma (Algeria) - Algeria vs. Togo (AFCON Qualifier)
Sébastien Haller (Côte d'Ivoire) - Nigeria vs Côte d'Ivoire (Africa Cup of Nations)
Wessam Abou Ali (Al Ahly) - Al Ahly vs. TP Mazembe (CAF Champions League)
Yassine Benzia (Algeria) - Algeria vs. South Africa (FIFA Series 2024 Algeria)
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African Women's Footballer of the Year Nominees
The full list of CAF Awards nominees can be found on CAF's official site, with the five players shortlisted for the women's Footballer of the Year award named below.
She-polopolo and NWSL Champions Orlando Pride striker Barbra Banda is the favourite for the prestigious award, where she would become the first ever Zambian to win the woman's award.
It would also be a first if either of Malawi's Chawinga sisters - Tabitha, currently with Olympique Lyonnais, or Temwa at Kansas City, where she won the NWSL's MVP and Golden Boot awards for the season - clinch the prize.
Banda, who was recently named BBC African Woman Footballer of the Year, scored 13 goals in the regular NWSL season as Pride won their first title last term, before being named among the Women's Ballon d'Or nominees.
She also excelled at the Olympics in Paris, scoring four in three for the Copper Queens. Her closest challenge is likely to come from Lyon's Tabitha Chawinga, who won the Coupe de France with Paris Saint-Germain before bagging goals aplenty with her new club.
https://www.cafonline.com/news/caf-announces-cafawards24-nominees-for-womens-categories-as-awards-ceremony-edges-closer/
Player of the Year (Women):
Tabitha Chawinga (Malawi / Olympique Lyonnais)
Temwa Chawinga (Malawi / Kansas City Current)
Sanaâ Mssoudy (Morocco / AS FAR)
Chiamaka Nnadozie (Nigeria / Paris FC)
Barbra Banda (Zambia / Orlando Pride)
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African Men's Footballer of the Year Nominees
CAF's full listing for the contenders for each of the men's award prizes can be found on their official website, with categories such as Coach of the Year, Interclub Player of the Year, and Goalkeeper of the Year set to be decided on Monday.
The most hotly anticipated award is likely to be the African Men's Footballer of the Year prize, where, with none of Victor Osimhen, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané or Riyad Mahrez shortlisted, we're guaranteed a first-time winner.
Player of the Year (Men):
Achraf Hakimi (Morocco / Paris Saint-Germain)
Ademola Lookman (Nigeria / Atalanta)
Simon Adingra (Côte d'Ivoire / Brighton)
Ronwen Williams (South Africa / Mamelodi Sundowns)
Serhou Guirassy (Guinea / Borussia Dortmund)
Among the current nominees for African Footballer of the Year, Ademola Lookman is the outstanding favourite, having excelled during the period in question both for club and country.
An AFCON finalist with Nigeria, he's also starred for Atalanta as they've climbed to top spot in Serie A, and scored a hat-trick as La Dea defeated Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in the Europa League final.
The first Nigerian to win the African Footballer of the Year was Rashidi Yekini in 1993, and should Lookman be crowned on Monday, he'd be following in the footsteps of compatriots Emmanuel Amuneke, Nwankwo Kanu, Victor Ikpeba and Osimhen.
While Adingra appears an outsider for the Footballer of the Year award, Ivory Coast appear a shoo-in to win the men's National Team of the Year prize, while Ronwen Williams might fancy his chances of winning the Goalkeeper of the Year award.
The Mamelodi Sundowns stopper is also one of nominees for the Interclub Player of the Year award, although he'll face stiff competition from Al-Ahly pair Hussein El Shahat and Mostafa Shobeir.