Confederation of African Football (CAF) has released the full list of nominees for the player of the year award with three Super Eagles players making the list. Victor Moses who plays for Chelsea and William Troost-Ekong playing in the Turkish top flight, are among the 30 finalist for the awards.
The most notable absentee in the list is last year’s winner, Riyad Mahrez, who performed brilliantly to help Leicester City to a surprise Premier League title.
Senegal and Liverpool forward, Sadio Mane, Pierre Emerick Aubameyang of Gabon and Borussia Dortmund and also Egypt’s 44 year old Essam El Hadary who plays club football for Al Taawoun in Saudi Arabia also made the list.
The CAF Player of the Year nominees:
Vincent Aboubakar (Cameroon & Porto)
Karim El Ahmadi (Morocco & Feyenoord)
Christian Atsu (Ghana & Newcastle)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon & Borussia Dortmund)
Eric Bailly (Cote d’Ivoire & Manchester United)
Cedric Bakambu (DR Congo & Villareal)
Keita Balde (Senegal & Monaco)
Christian Bassogog (Cameroon & Henan Jianye)
Yves Bissouma (Mali & Lille)
Khalid Boutaib (Morocco & Yeni Malatyaspor)
Yacine Brahimi (Algeria & Porto)
Essam El Hadary (Egypt & Al Taawoun)
Junior Kabananga (DR Congo & Astana)
Fackson Kapumbu (Zambia & Zesco)
Naby Keita (Guinea & RB Leipzig)
Ali Maaloul (Tunisia & Al Ahly)
Sadio Mane (Senegal & Liverpool)
Moussa Marega (Mali & Porto)
Victor Moses (Nigeria & Chelsea)
Youssef Msakni (Tunisia & Al Duhail)
Michael Olunga (Kenya & Girona)
Fabrice Ondoa (Cameroon & Sevilla)
Denis Onyango (Uganda & Mamelodi Sundowns)
Thomas Partey (Ghana & Atletico Madrid)
Mohamed Salah (Egypt & Liverpool)
Mbwana Samata (Tanzania & Genk)
Jean Michel Seri (Cote d’Ivoire & Nice)
Percy Tau (South Africa & Mamelodi Sundowns)
Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso & Lyon)
William Troost-Ekong (Nigeria & Bursaspor)
CAF has said that votes from Head Coaches, Technical Directors of National Associations affiliated to CAF, members of the CAF Technical and Development committee and a panel of Media Experts will decide the winner of the awards.
The Awards Gala is to be held on January 4, 2018 in Accra Ghana.
Nigerian Energy, Aiteo are the forefront sponsors of the awards, taking over from Globacom telecommunications.
