The Marc-Vivien Foé Award recognizes the best African player of the season in the French Ligue 1.
In the 2023-24 season, more than 70 African Footballers are plying their trade in the French Ligue 1.
The three best African players per French Ligue authorities are Gabon and Marseille’s Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, Morocco and PSG right-back Achraf Hakimi and Algeria and LOSC Lille”s Nabil Bentaleb.
Aubamenyang has been an instrumental figure for Olympique Marseille by scoring 14 goals and providing 8 assists in the French Ligue 1 with Marseille lying 7th on the league table.
PSG’s Hakimi has played 24 times for the Paris giants. He has already won the Ligue 1 with four games to spare. The right-back has scored 4 goals and provided 5 assists for the French champions.
29-year-old Algerian midfielder Nabil Bentaleb has been a cog in Lille’s midfield. He has made 23 appearances and registered 3 assists for Lille. Lille sits 4th on the league log with just three points behind 2nd place AS Monaco.
The jury for the award is composed of almost 100 journalists who are well-versed in French and African soccer.
The award was introduced in the 2008-09 season in honour of the late RC Lens, Olympique Lyon and Cameroonian midfielder who died in June 2003.
Gervinho is the only player to have won the award twice. Pierre Aubameyang won it in the 2012-13 season at Saint-Etienne. He will be the second player to have won it twice if he emerges as the winner ahead of Achraf and Bentaleb.
