Sudan coach, Kwesi Appiah has made a claim both Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Paris Saint-Germain’s Achraf Hakimi deserve to be crowned 2025 African Footballer of the Year.
Appiah maintained that the two North African stars had a memorable 2024-25 campaign at their respective clubs and they are leading the countries to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Salah won the Premier League Golden Boot last season which was pivotal to Liverpool’s league triumph.
Hakimi, on the other hand, completed a quintuple year with PSG as they won the French Cup, the French Champions Trophy, French Ligue 1, the UEFA Champions League, and the UEFA Super Cup.
The Sudan coach acknowledged the feats and he made a case for Salah’s consistency and Hakimi’s defensive exploits.
“Salah has been consistent with top performances in England,” Appiah told RG. “But Hakimi has been exceptional too. Even as a defender, he’s scored important goals and been vital for both PSG and Morocco.
“For me, if either Salah or Hakimi wins, they both deserve it.”
Sudan dreaming of 2026 World Cup
Meanwhile, Sudan’s hopes of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup suffered a huge blow this month with back-to-back losses to Senegal and Togo, away from home. They conceded a 2-0 loss to Senegal in Dakar followed by a 1-0 defeat in Lome.
Appiah remains optimistic as the Falcons of Jediane are on 12 points, six points behind Group B leaders Senegal and four points behind runners-up the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He said: “For me, wherever I’ve been, the goal is to achieve something meaningful.
“From AFCON to the CAF Champions League to the World Cup, I always aim to leave a footprint and what matters most is not what I did years ago but what I can do now with the players I have.”
Next up for Sudan in the World Cup qualifiers are final games against Mauritania and Sudan in October, before they travel to Morocco for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
