The African Cup of Nations (AFCON) is the most prestigious football tournament in Africa.
Therefore, players who have won the golden boot in the past AFCON editions are highly honored.
Football stars including Sadio Mane (Senegal), Victor Osimhen (Nigeria), and Hakim Ziyech (Morocco) are battling it out in Cote d’Ivoire to help their countries progress in the tournament.
The Kenya Times takes a look at the past AFCON golden boot winners and their current lifestyle.
Vincent Aboubakar
Cameroon forward Vincent Aboubakar won the golden boot in the 33rd edition of the AFCON tournament held in 2021.
The former Al Nassr forward grabbed the award after scoring eight goals and helping Cameroon finish third in the tournament.
Aboubakar joined Besiktas in 2023 just a few weeks after Christiano Ronaldo joined Al Nassr.
Odion Ighalo
In 2019, Odion Ighalo led Nigeria to a third-place finish in the year’s AFCON competition where he finished as the competition’s top scorer with seven goals.
The Nigerian striker who has played in several clubs including Manchester United and Watford is currently under contract with Al-Wehda FC in Saudi Arabia.
Junior Kabananga
Junior Kabananga was crowned AFCON’s 2017 golden boot winner three years after making his international debut for DR Congo in 2014.
Kabananga scored all the three goals in the group stage before Congo was knocked out in the last eight.
He is currently playing professional football in the Kazakhstan Premier League with FC Maktaaral.
Also Read: Meet Former Harambee Stars Coach Sacked Over AFCON Remarks
5 Players Crowned Top Scorers
Five players, Thievy Bifouma and Dieumerci Mbokani both of DRC, André Ayew (Ghana), Ahmed Akaïchi (Tunisia) and Javier Balboa (Equatorial Guinea) finished top of the AFCON’s scoring table with three goals in the 2015 tournament.
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Akaichi plays at Ahed in the Lebanese League, with Bifouma joining OFI Crete F.C in 2022 while Mbokani signed for Noah, Armenian League in 2023.
Born in Madrid, Javier Balboa played for several teams in La Liga before moving to Trikala in 2017.
Ayew, on his part, plays for Le Havre and captained Ghana in the quest to win the ongoing tournament at Ivory Coast.
Ballon d’Or ambassador Didier Drogba also won the golden boot in 2012 alongside Marseille striker and Gabon captain Pierre Emerick Aubameyang.
President of the Cameroonian Football Federation Samuel Etoo won the golden boot in 2006 and 2008 tournaments.
Etoo is also AFCON’s and Cameroon’s all-time top scorer with 18 and 56 goals respectively.
AFCON First Golden Boot Winner
Egypt striker Mohamed Deyab Al-Attar popularly known as Ad-Diba was the top scorer in the first AFCON tournament held in 1957.
Ad-Diba scored five goals to help his country win the inaugural African Cup.
The former Al-Ittihad player, however, died on December 30, 2016.
Another Egypt striker Mahmoud El-Gohary was crowned the top scorer in 1959 to help the country win the second AFCON edition.
Also Read: Former Football Stars Who Have Become Successful Coaches
However, he was forced into early retirement due to knee injury and he ventured into managerial roles.
He also won the 1998 tournament with Egypt as a manager and died in 2012.
Egyptian midfielder Badawi Abdel Fattah and Ethiopian Mengistu Worku were crowned golden boot winner in the 1962 tournament.
The two died in 2007 and 2010 respectively after having long careers with their teams.
