Uncategorized

Achraf Hakimi Triumphs to Win CAF Player of the Year

Published

12 months ago

November 20, 2025

Q Tinny

Achraf Hakimi CAF player of the Year winner after a standout season for PSG and Morocco, ending a 27-year wait for a Moroccan champion

Achraf Hakimi’s remarkable rise reached a powerful milestone on Wednesday as he was crowned the Achraf Hakimi CAF Player of the Year, becoming only the second Moroccan in history to earn Africa’s most coveted individual football honour.

Also read: Victor Osimhen Misses CAF Awards Due to Hamstring Injury

The ceremony, held at the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Rabat, marked a defining moment for the 27-year-old Paris Saint-Germain full-back, who finally broke through after years of finishing agonisingly close.

He edged fierce competitors Mohamed Salah and Victor Osimhen to claim the prize.

Hakimi’s award comes on the back of a breathtaking 2024–25 season in which he played a decisive role in PSG’s extraordinary Champions League triumph.

His blend of defensive composure, blistering pace and attacking authority produced a season described by many observers as truly exceptional.

The defender registered five goals and four assists in the Champions League alone, earning him a place in the UEFA Team of the Season and a career-best sixth in the Ballon d’Or ranking.

Internationally, he captained Morocco to early World Cup qualification while extending the nation’s record unbeaten run to 16 matches, further solidifying his reputation as one of the world’s most complete modern full-backs.

His victory ends a long spell of West African dominance, with Nigeria lifting the last two awards through Osimhen and Ademola Lookman.

Morocco had not celebrated a men’s Player of the Year winner since Mustapha Hadji’s triumph in 1998, making Hakimi’s achievement deeply symbolic for the host nation.

Also read: Esther Okoronkwo Snubbed in CAF Women’s Player Award

The evening also saw several Moroccan successes across other categories, adding to the sense of national pride. For Hakimi personally, the honour underlines a career defined by relentless consistency, leadership and evolution, showing how collective success and European silverware now shape Africa’s football hierarchy.

Up Next

Nation Mourns Olusegun Awolowo — May His Soul Find Eternal Rest

Don't Miss

Funsho Doherty Faults Petrol Import Tariff Policy

Q Tinny

Click to comment

Uncategorized

Nigerian Man Jailed Seven Years for Defrauding American Lover of $205,238

Published

7 days ago

October 30, 2026

Mariam Balogun

A Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, has sentenced Nwachi Chidozie Kingsley to seven years in prison for obtaining $205,238 from an American woman, Nicole Kierulff Sayers, through false pretences.

Justice U.P. Kekemeke handed down the conviction on Thursday, October 29, 2026, following prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The court sentenced him to seven years on each of two counts, with the terms running concurrently at Kuje Correctional Centre. He was also ordered to refund the entire $205,238 to Sayers, with no option of a fine.

Sayers, an American lawyer from Oregon, told the court that Kingsley initially contacted her on Facebook on her birthday and claimed they belonged to the same spiritual organisation.

She said their conversations eventually became romantic, which made her trust him. According to her, Kingsley later claimed he needed money to facilitate a government contract and allegedly told her that some men were threatening his life because he had not raised the required funds.

Sayers said she first sent him $15,000 after he promised to repay it within 45 days. She later travelled to Abuja in March 2022 and stayed with him for about two weeks.

According to her testimony, Kingsley continued asking for money for alleged contract expenses, medical emergencies, surgeries, malaria treatment and other needs. She said she made more than 125 transactions, transferring over $200,000 within about a year.

The court ultimately convicted him and ordered him to serve the concurrent seven-year prison sentence.