The award is given to the best African player in the French Ligue 1. Hamari Traoré, captain of the Eagles of Mali and Stade Rennais, is one of the 12 nominated players and is likely to win the award given the season he is having with his club.
After a remarkable season with Stade Rennais, with over 2190 minutes played, 2 goals scored and 7 assists to his credit, it would be surprising not to see the name of the captain of the Eagles of Mali, Hamari Traoré, on the list of nominees. An exemplary captain, Hamari is a major asset in the Rennes defence and his performances have enabled the Stade Rennais to climb to the top of the table and compete with the big names in the French Ligue 1 such as PSG, Olympique de Marseille and Olympique Lyonnais.
Hamari Traoré is a key leader in the dressing room and is the link between his coach Bruno Génésio and his teammates on the pitch. The player who is having one of his best seasons in the French league by putting in XXL performances in every game, whether at Roazhon Park, the Stade Rennais’ backyard, or in other French Ligue 1 stadiums, is proving all the good that is expected of him. This trophy will complete the work started on the turf of the Jean Marc Guillou Academy in Bamako where Hamari Traore made his first steps. Here are the 12 nominees for the Marc Vivien Foé 2022 award: Yunis Abdelhamid (34, Stade de Reims/Morocco); Nayef Aguerd (26, Stade Rennais/Morocco); Mohamed Bayo (23, Clermont Foot/Guinea); Sofiane Boufal (28, Angers SCO/Morocco); Seko Fofana (26, RC Lens/Ivory Coast); Idrissa Gueye (32, PSG/Senegal); Achraf Hakimi (23, PSG/Morocco); Wahbi Khazri (31, ASSE/Tunisia); Mario Lemina (28, OGC Nice/Gabon); Moses Simon (26, FCNantes/Nigeria); Karl Toko Ekambi (29, OL/Cameroon); Hamari Traoré (30, Stade Rennais/Mali).
