Super Eagles stars make CAF shortlist for 2017 African Player of the Year award

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Wednesday, November 1 released the 30-man shortlist and also the nominees for the African Player of the Year-Based in Africa.

The winner of the awards will be announced at the Awards Gala which will hold on Thursday, January 4 in Accra, Ghana.

Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez is the holder of the award which he won after winning the 2016 Premier League title with Leicester City. He is, however, missing from the shortlist.

Victor Moses

Moses makes the 30-man shortlist for the African Player of the Year following his exploits for Chelsea in the year under review.

The 27-year-old was an influential part of Antonio Conte’s team that won the 2017 Premier League title.

Moses made 22 consecutive Premier League starts from September 2016 to April 2017. 28 starts and 33 league appearances in total last season.

He is the Nigerian player with the most Premier League appearances for a title-winning team ever.

Moses also helped Nigeria seal qualification to the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

William Troost-Ekong

Troost-Ekong had a good year impressing for Norwegian side FK Haugesund and the Super Eagles. He now plays his football in Turkey with Bursaspor.

In the year under review, Troost-Ekong established himself as a Super Eagles regular and played a crucial role in Nigeria’s qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Moses and Troost-Ekong will be hoping to make it to the final shortlist for the African Player of the Year award.

No Nigerian has made the final three of the award since 2013 when John Mikel Obi finished second. Nigeria have not had a winner of the award in 18 years-Kanu Nwankwo won the 1999 edition.

Also in the list are Cameroon’s Christian Bassogog who led the Indomitable Lions to the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title, Mohamed Salah who scored two goals as Egypt got the final of the 2017 AFCON and helped Roma to a second-place Serie A finish with 87 points, their highest so far in history even more than 75 they got when they last won the Serie A title in 2001.

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Gabon’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang makes the shortlist following his brilliant year in the Bundesliga where he finished as the highest goalscorer with 31 goals and also won the German Cup.

Cote d’Ivoire’s Eric Bailly makes the shortlist after impressing in his first season in the Premier League with Manchester United. He won a League Cup and Europa League double.

Guinean Naby Keita makes the shortlist following his break-out year with RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga.

Other notable names on the shortlist include Jean Michel Seri, Keita Balde, Sadio Mane, Christian Atsu and Yacine Brahimi.

Full List

African Player of the Year

Ali Maaloul (Tunisia & Al Ahly), Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso & Lyon), Cedric Bakambu (DR Congo & Villareal), Christian Atsu (Ghana & Newcastle), Christian Bassogog (Cameroon & Henan Jianye), Denis Onyango (Uganda & Mamelodi Sundowns), Eric Bailly (Cote d’Ivoire & Manchester United), Essam El Hadary (Egypt & Al Taawoun), Fabrice Ondoa (Cameroon & Sevilla), Fackson Kapumbu (Zambia & Zesco), Jean Michel Seri (Cote d’Ivoire & Nice), Junior Kabananga (DR Congo & Astana), Karim El Ahmadi (Morocco & Feyenoord), Keita Balde (Senegal & Monaco), Khalid Boutaib (Morocco & Yeni Malatyaspor), Mbwana Samata (Tanzania & Genk), Michael Olunga (Kenya & Girona), Mohamed Salah (Egypt & Liverpool), Moussa Marega (Mali & Porto), Naby Keita (Guinea & RB Leipzig), Percy Tau (South Africa & Mamelodi Sundowns), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon & Borussia Dortmund), Sadio Mane (Senegal & Liverpool), Thomas Partey (Ghana & Atletico Madrid), Victor Moses (Nigeria & Chelsea), Vincent Aboubakar (Cameroon & Porto), William Troost-Ekong (Nigeria & Bursaspor), Yacine Brahimi (Algeria & Porto), Youssef Msakni (Tunisia & Al Duhail), Yves Bissouma (Mali & Lille)

African Player of the Year – Based in Africa

Achraf Bencharki (Morocco & Wydad Athletic Club), Ahmed Fathi (Egypt & Al Ahly), Alkhaly Bangoura (Guinea & Etoile du Sahel), Ali Maaloul (Tunisia & Al Ahly), Aristide Bance (Burkina Faso & Al Masry), Ayman Majid (Morocco & FUS Rabat), Aymen Mathlouthi (Tunisia & Etoile du Sahel), Ben Malango (DR Congo & TP Mazembe), Dean Furman (South Africa & Supersport United), Denis Onyango (Uganda & Mamelodi Sundowns), Elsamani Saadeldin (Sudan & Al Merreikh), Fackson Kapumbu (Zambia & Zesco), Fawzi Chaouchi (Algeria & MC Alger), Geoffrey Serunkuma (Uganda & KCCA), Jeremy Brockie (New Zealand & Supersport), Junior Ajayi (Nigeria & Al Ahly), Karim Aouadhi (Tunisia & CS Sfaxien), Mohamed Meftah (Algeria & USM Alger), Mohamed Ounnajem (Morocco & Wydad Athletic Club), Muaid Ellafi (Libya & Ahly Tripoli), Nasr Eldin Ahmed (Sudan & Hilal Obeid), Oussama Darfalou (Algeria & USM Alger), Percy Tau (South Africa & Mamelodi Sundowns), Sabelo Ndzinisa (Swaziland & Mbabane Swallows), Saber Khalifa (Tunisia & Club Africain), Saladin Said (Ethiopia & Saint George), Sylvain Gbohouo (Cote d’Ivoire & TP Mazembe), Tady Etekiama (DR Congo & AS Vita), Taha Yassine Khenissi (Tunisia & Esperance), Tarek Hamed (Egypt & Zamalek)