The Football Writers' Association has released a decade of its Footballer of the Year award winners, showcasing the continent's finest talent across ten seasons of elite football.
N'Golo Kanté dominated the award in the early years of this period, his tireless midfield work and ball-winning ability earning him recognition among the writers who cover African football daily. The Leicester City and later Chelsea midfielder's consistency made him a regular fixture on the honour roll.
Bruno Fernandes brought a different flavour to the award in more recent years. The Portuguese midfielder's creativity and goal-scoring threat from midfield captured the imagination of voters, demonstrating how the award has recognised different styles of play across the decade.
The FWA Footballer of the Year award stands as one of African football's most respected individual honours. Unlike fan voting, the award comes from journalists and writers embedded in the game, people who watch matches closely and understand the tactical nuances that separate good players from truly exceptional ones. This gives the award particular weight in football circles across the continent.
The full list spans ten years of winners, each representing a peak moment in their careers or a season where they simply outperformed their peers in ways that caught the eye of the media. Some winners went on to move to bigger leagues in Europe. Others remained in Africa and continued their dominance at the continental level.
The FWA continues to recognise outstanding individual performances each season, with voting closing at the end of each calendar year. The 2024 award will see fresh votes cast as writers assess the current crop of players competing at the highest level.
