Mohamed Salah, who was included alongside Achraf Hakimi and Victor Osimhen on a three-man candidate list for the African Player of the Year award in 2023, will attempt to win a hat-trick of accolades.

Two previous award recipients, Sadio Mane and Riyad Mahrez, both of whom transferred this year to play for clubs in Saudi Arabia, were not included on the shortlist on Thursday.

Asisat Oshoala, a record-setting five-time recipient, is in competition with Thembi Kgatlana and Barbra Banda for the women’s award.

Candidates were announced by the Confederation of African Football in advance of its yearly award ceremony, which will take place in Marrakech, Morocco, on Monday.

Prior to Mohamed Salah, who earned consecutive African honours in 2017 and 2018, his Liverpool teammate Mane won the subsequent two titles in 2022 and 2019. Salah finished in second place the year prior.

Stenzèle Saint-Germain immediately Hakimi distinguished himself for Morocco in its run to the semifinals of the 2022 World Cup.

The 26 Serie A goals scored by Nigerian forward Osimhen led the league last year and helped Napoli win their first Italian championship in 33 years.

Mane struggled in his debut season at Bayern Munich and was sidelined by injury during the World Cup with Senegal. In contrast, Mahrez was a member of Manchester City’s treble-winning squad, which also won the FA Cup, English Premier League, and Champions League.

Additionally, in 2016, Mahrez was named African Player of the Year after assisting Leicester to an astounding English league championship.

After receiving her fifth African women’s player of the year award in 2022, Oshoalawon assisted Barcelona in winning the Women’s Champions League and qualified Nigeria for the Women’s World Cup.

Kgatlana, a member of the Racing Louisville team based in the United States, distinguished South Africa during the World Cup, while Banda served as the captain of Zambia during the competition held in Australia and New Zealand.