Moroccan Defender Yunis Abdelhamid Nominated for Top African Player in Ligue 1 Award

Reims defender Yunis Abdelhamid is among the eleven finalists vying for the Marc-Vivien Foé award, organized by RFI and France 24. An award that rewards the best African player in Ligue 1. The Atlas Lion is the only Moroccan selected for this season.

The 10 other nominated players are: Denis Bouanga (Gabon / Saint-Etienne), Andy Delort (Algeria / Montpellier), Habib Diallo (Senegal / Metz), Idrissa Gueye (Senegal / Paris SG), Édouard Mendy (Senegal / Rennes), M’Baye Niang (Senegal / Rennes) 8-Victor Osimhen (Nigeria / Lille), Moses Simon (Nigeria / Nantes), Islam Slimani (Algeria / Monaco) or Hamari Traoré (Mali / Rennes).

This is the second consecutive time that the Moroccan international has been nominated for the Marc-Vivien Foé trophy. "The Atlas Lion is one of the great architects of Reims’ 6th place in the standings. To the point that the Moroccan is in the team of the season, established by the magazine France Football, and was the best rated defender by the newspaper L’Équipe. The 32-year-old player could finally discover the Europa League, his club being on the verge of a participation," comment RFI and France 24. Remains to be seen whether luck will smile on Yunis Abdelhamid this time.

Three Moroccans had already received the award: Sofiane Boufal in 2016, Younès Belhanda in 2012 and Marouane Chamakh in 2009. In 2019, the Ivorian Nicolas Pépé had won this award. The organizers will reveal the name of this season’s winner on June 29.