The final list of nominees for the 2023 Young Player of the Year award has been made public by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Nigeria’s Gift Orban was not selected for the Young Player of the Year award after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) revealed the final nominee shortlist.
Gift Orban, a standout for the Super Eagles and Gent was one of the nine nominees for the award that CAF announced.
The attacker was awarded for his outstanding play throughout his stellar season with Gent, a Belgian team. Since joining the Belgian team in January 2023, he has made 38 appearances, scoring 27 goals and dishing out two assists.
Because of this, Orban and nine other young African players will compete for the CAF Young Player of the Year title.
Along with Dango Ouattara, Pape Diop, Amara Diouf, Abdessamad Ezzalzouli, Bilal El Khannouss, Ernest Nuamah, Papa Amadou Diallo, and Lemine Camara, he was nominated for the award.
The federation narrowed their choice of 10 to four players in front of the spectacular event that will take place in Morocco on December 11, 2023, when the prestigious CAF Awards will return with great pomp to honor the best players in African football.
The Nigerian forward was discarded from consideration along with five other applicants, resulting in a shortlist of five nominees for the coveted award, which recognizes and rewards rising stars.
Dango Ouattara, Abdessamad Ezzalzouli, Bilal El Khannouss, Lemine Camara, and Amara Diouf made up the final shortlist for the award after Orban, Souleymane Alio, Ernest Nuamah, Papa Amadou Diallo, and Pape Diop were removed from the first shortlist.
