Moroccan full-back Zakaria El Ouahdi beats Adem Zorgane and Raphael Onyedika to be crowned best African player in the Belgian Pro League

Moroccan full-back Zakaria El Ouahdi beats Adem Zorgane and Raphael Onyedika to be crowned best African player in the Belgian Pro League

Zakaria El Ouahdi has been crowned the winner of the Ebony Shoe for the 2025/2026 season, beating Algerian midfielder Adem Zorgane and Nigerian midfielder Raphael Onyedika of Club Brugge. The Ebony Shoe is awarded to the best African player in the Pro League, or player of African origin.

El Ouahdi is the third Moroccan to win the annual award, after Mbark Boussoufa, who became a three-time winner in 2006, 2009, and 2010, and Tarik Tissoudali, who was the winner back in 2022. Victory for El Ouahdi means Genk have won back to back Ebony Shoes, with current Wolves striker Tolu Arokodare.

Given how well he has played this season, El Ouahdi will surely be leaving Genk in the summer. The young full-back has scored 12 goals in 41 games from defence, with four assists as well.

Genk are still fighting for European football, although even qualification for that is unlikely to help them keep the 24-year-old from . They need to win play-off two and then beat the team that finishes fourth or fifth (depending on the cup final) in the champions play-offs to get a ticket to the qualification rounds of the Conference League.