The announcement of the African Team of the Year for 2023 by the Confederation of African Football during its annual awards ceremony in Marrakech, Morocco, has sparked widespread controversy due to the absence of Yassine Bounou and Riyad Mahrez. Initially regarded as top contenders for the African Player of the Year award in 2023, both players shocked Moroccan and Algerian fans when they were excluded from the final list, which included Nigerian Victor Osimhen, the top scorer for Napoli last season, Moroccan star Achraf Hakimi from Paris Saint-Germain, and Egyptian winger Mohamed Salah from Liverpool.
The second blow to the duo came with their omission from the ideal African team for 2023, despite their remarkable achievements in the previous season. Bounou played a crucial role in Morocco’s historic accomplishment at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, where the team reached the semifinals—the first Arab and African team to do so. He was also impressive at his former club Sevilla, winning the UEFA Europa League before transferring to Al Hilal last summer, and he ranked thirteenth in the 2023 Ballon d'Or by "France Football".
Meanwhile, winger Mahrez was a prominent candidate for the CAF awards after leading his former team Manchester City to a historic treble by claiming the UEFA Champions League, Premier League, and FA Cup titles last season.
The bewildering aspect of the ideal African team for 2023 is that Bounou was awarded the title of Best Goalkeeper in Africa at the ceremony yet was not included in the ideal lineup, with Manchester United's Cameroonian goalkeeper André Onana taking his place.
