Al Ahly number 10 and Bafana forward Percy Tau is vying for the inaugural COSAFA Cup Player of the Year.  

The winner will be announced at a gala awards ceremony on 19 April in Durban, with a panel of judges from across the region having assessed their achievements from 1 January to 31 December last year.  

Tau is nominated with Lameck Banda of Lecce in the Serie A and Mamelodi Sundowns and Namibian captain Peter Shalulile.  

Banda is the first ever Zambian to feature in a Serie A match. He has been influential for Lecce and also helped his country to qualify for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.  

He is growing in stature at his club where he became more influential as the year went on.  

Shalulile finished joint top-scorer in the DStv Premiership last term as Sundowns galloped with an unprecedented sixth championship in a row, finishing of 12 league goals.   

He also helped the club win the inaugural African Football League and led Namibia to qualification for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, winning their first game in Ivory Coast against Tunisia in the group stages. Overall, in 2023, he scored 25 goals for Sundowns and another three for Namibia.  

Tau did better than the two, lifting the CAF Champions League with Al Ahly and helping his Egyptian side to the 2022/23 domestic league title. He also claimed the CAF Footballer of the Year based in Africa in last year’s awards, as he became an important scorer and creator of goals for Ahly.  

He also helped South Africa to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification, with Hugo Broos’ side claiming the bronze medal for the first time in 24 years.  

He also scored against Urawa Reds as Ahly took third place at the FIFA Club World Cup.