CAF Awards 2026: Algeria land eight men’s nominations as Maza, Belouizdad and USMA make the cut
Algerian football has landed eight nominations across six men’s categories at the 2026 CAF Awards, the annual honours handed out by the Confederation of African Football. CAF released its men’s shortlists on Wednesday 4 November, a day after unveiling the women’s nominees.
Every category has ten contenders. Algeria’s national team – the Desert Foxes – are in the running for National Team of the Year, while CR Belouizdad and USM Alger fly the flag for Ligue 1 Mobilis, Algeria’s top flight, in the Club of the Year race.
Algeria’s nominations
- National Team of the Year: Algeria
- Club of the Year: CR Belouizdad and USM Alger
- Goalkeeper of the Year: Oussama Benbot
- Young Player of the Year: Ibrahim Maza (Bayer Leverkusen)
- Interclub Player of the Year: Abdennour Belhocini (CR Belouizdad) and Ahmed Khaldi (USM Alger)
- Coach of the Year: Lamine N’Diaye (USM Alger)
Stiff competition
None of it will be easy. Benbot is up against the likes of Yassine Bounou, Édouard Mendy and Ronwen Williams, while Maza’s rivals include Morocco’s Ayoub Bouaddi of Manchester City and Ivory Coast’s Yan Diomande of Real Madrid. Belouizdad and USMA share the club shortlist with Mamelodi Sundowns, Zamalek, Espérance de Tunis and RS Berkane, and N’Diaye’s fellow coaching nominees include Walid Regragui.
There is no Algerian among the ten candidates for the headline Player of the Year prize, a list that features Sadio Mané and Achraf Hakimi. The men’s nods add to the three Algeria picked up on the women’s side on Tuesday: Marine Dafeur, Chloé N’Gazi and the women’s national team.
What’s next?
The winners will be revealed at the CAF Awards ceremony in Lagos, Nigeria, on Monday 7 December 2026.
Sources: Goal, Seneweb, Africa Soccer (clubs), Africa Soccer (coaches), MySportDab
Photo: Algeria Press Service / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)