Yassine “Bono” Bounou, the LaLiga Santander African MVP, helped Morocco become the first African team to reach the 2022 Fifa World Cup semifinals. When Mid Season MVP voting opens in mid-January, he will be among the favorites to retain his first LaLiga African MVP Award, which he won last season.
Youssef Nesyri’s powerful header that eliminated Portugal from Qatar in 2022 made international headlines. Qatar 2022 was a watershed moment for African football. African players in LaLiga Santander will likely be prominent when the African MVP Mid-Season Award is presented early in the new year.
Africa’s LaLiga Mid Season MVP will be determined by a public vote on LaLiga’s social media outlets and by many of Africa’s top football journalists. The LaLiga African Mid-Season MVP vote will begin on Monday, January 16, 2023, and will conclude on Sunday, January 29, 2023, and is predicted to be a close battle. The LaLiga Santander African MVP will be voted on again after the season.
LaLiga Santander African Mid-Season MVP Award returns with a bang
Inaki Williams of Athletic Bilbao, like his brother Nico, impressed in Qatar but is ineligible for the African MVP Award because he represented Spain. This season, Joseph Aidoo of Celta de Vigo, Sergio Akieme of UD Almeria, and Reinildo Mandava of Atletico Madrid have each played 14 games and over 1200 minutes. Mandava has been a revelation in Diego Simeone’s star-studded Atletico Madrid squad and is regarded as one of the club’s future stars. Atletico Madrid’s Geoffrey Kondogbia, a rugged Central African Republic midfielder, has also performed well this season.
Nigerian striker Umar Sadiq scored three goals in five games after joining Real Sociedad for 20 million euros before injuring his anterior cruciate ligament against Getafe in September. Togo’s Dakonam Djené, one of the most consistent African players, has been at his metronomic best in 12 appearances for Getafe. Pathé Ciss of Rayo Valecano, Nicolas Jackson of Villareal, and Youssouff Sabaly of Real Betis have all played more than 10 hours this season.
“We are thrilled about the tremendous assortment of African players from so many different nations who have performed and made their impression on LaLiga Santander this season,” stated LaLiga Southern Africa Managing Director Marcos Pelegrin before the vote. LaLiga had the most semifinalists in the Qatar 2022 Fifa World Cup of any league.
We are very proud of the African players that made their mark in Qatar and LaLiga Santander this season. We are excited about the African MVP Award competition, which exceeded all our expectations in its first year and is likely to be much greater this season”. Santander Liga African MVP Award voters have the opportunity to win exciting LaLiga prizes.
