Riyad Mahrez has became the first African footballer to win the Professional Footballers Association’s (PFA) Player of the Year award for the 2015–16 season. The footballer received the award at the Professional Footballers’ Association awards ceremony organised in London. With the award, Mahrez also became the second non-European, after Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez, to grab the award. On the other hand, Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli was named Young Player of the Year.

The Professional Footballers’ Association Players’ Player of the Year is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the year in English football. The award has been presented since the 1973–74 season and the winner is chosen by a vote amongst the members of the players’ trade union, the Professional Footballers’ Association. Chelsea’s Eden Hazard was the PFA Player of the Year for the 2014-2015 season.

Riyad Mahrez is a professional footballer who plays for English club Leicester City and the Algerian national team as a winger. He made his international debut for Algeria in 2014 and represented them at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.