Lille’s Moroccan star midfielder Sofiane Boufal has been recognised for his performances in the French top flight with the Marc-Vivien Foe Award, indicating his status as the best African player in Ligue 1 for the 2015-16 season.

The 22-year-old received the accolade ahead of fellow nominees Rachid Ghezzal and Cheikh N’Doye. Senegalese player N’Doye represents Angers, while Algerian Ghezzal turns out for Olympique Lyon.

With one full matchday remaining in the French championship, Lille are sixth on the table, with Paris Saint-Germain having won the league some time ago.

Despite the standings, Boufal stands out as an exceptional midfielder due to his 11 goals and five assists throughout the campaign, but a knee injury will keep him from adding to that tally, as he will not be playing in the final match of the season against Saint-Etienne this Saturday.

The Marc-Vivien Foe Award recognises the best player from the continent based on their performances in France over the entire season.

The award is named after the Cameroonian midfielder who tragically died on the pitch during a FIFA Confederations Cup semi-final while representing the Indomitable Lions in June 2003.

Boufal was selected as the winner of the award by a selection of French football journalists, with each member of the panel choosing three names from a list of 10 nominees that were decided up by the sports departments at RFI and FRANCE 24.

In 2015 Boufal declined to honour a call-up to play for Morocco against Sao Tome and Principe in the 2017 African Cup of Nations qualifiers.

The midfielder chose not to play for his country on September 5, with coach Badou Ezzaki having to go without his talents in that match, as he preferred to focus on his French club at the time.

Ghanaian Andre Ayew won the accolade last season, and has since moved on to the English Premier League with Swansea City.