Sundowns captain Ronwen Williams makes final list for Caf Player of the Year award

Mamelodi Sundowns captain Ronwen Williams remains among the top five players for the Caf Player of the Year, to be announced in Marrakesh, Morocco, on Monday.

The Confederation of African Football (Caf) was supposed to cut down the nominees to three on Thursday night, but said they couldn't do it, meaning now all five players will arrive at the event as the final nominees.

“With so little to choose in the voting between the remaining nominees in the race for the coveted Player of the Year award, the organisers have kept intact the full list of five names ahead of the ceremony on Monday,” Caf said in a statement on Thursday night. 

South Africa has never had a player win this award, but Williams may have a chance after he helped Bafana Bafana finish third in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations played in Ivory Coast earlier this year.

Williams distinguished himself when he saved four penalties in the last 8 match against Cape Verde and kept five clean sheets in the tournament.

The Sundowns goalkeeper was also this year in the running for the Yashin Trophy, becoming the first South African player to be nominated for a Ballon d'Or award. 

The Bafana skipper also helped Mamelodi Sundowns win the Betway Premiership for the seventh successive season, while setting a record low of 11 goals conceded in 30 matches. 

That Bafana have already qualified for the 2025 Afcon was also due to Williams doing well for the national team in goals. 

Final Nominees

Player of the Year (men): 

• Ronwen Williams (South Africa);
• Simon Adingra (Ivory Coast);
• Serhou Guirassy (Guinea);
• Achraf Hakimi (Morocco); and
• Ademola Lookman (Nigeria).

Player of the Year (women):

• Sanaa Mssoudy (Morocco); 
• Barbara Banda (Zambia); and
• Chiamaka Nnadozie (Nigeria).