AFRICAN FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR, A HOT BID
The 26-year-old scored 44 goals for Liverpool
in all competitions last season, his first at Anfield after moving from Roma,
and is set to be voted number one in Africa again.
After a slow start to his second season in
England, Salah is joint leading Premier League scorer on 10 goals with Gabonese
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Arsenal.
Salah and 2015 African Player of the Year
Aubameyang are among five nominees from England’s top flight, with Manchester
City winger Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez, who won the award in 2016 after
helping Leicester City to a historic Premier League title, joining them.
Salah’s Senegalese Liverpool team-mate Sadio
Mane, and Nigerian Alex Iwobi of Arsenal are the other candidates from the
most-watched football league in the world.
There are two goalkeepers vying to become the
first to win the award since Badou Zaki of Morocco 32 years ago — Cameroonian
Andre Onana of Ajax Amsterdam and Ugandan Denis Onyango from South African club
Mamelodi Sundowns.
Moroccan defender Mehdi Benatia, Egyptian
midfielder Walid Soliman and Tunisian striker Anis Badri complete the list.
French coach Herve Renard, who won the Africa
Cup of Nations with Zambia and the Ivory Coast and is now in charge of Morocco,
is among three Coach of the Year contenders.
His rivals are Aliou Cisse of Senegal and
Moine Chaabani, who guided Tunisian side Esperance to the CAF Champions League
title after being put in charge just one match before the final.
The award winners will be announced on
January 8 at a ceremony in Dakar.
African awards shortlists Player of the Year Alex Iwobi (Nigeria, Arsenal/ENG), Andre
Onana (Cameroon, Ajax/NED), Anis Badri (Tunisia, Esperance), Denis Onyango
(Uganda, Mamelodi Sundowns/RSA), Mehdi Benatia (Morocco, Juventus/ITA), Mohamed
Salah (Egypt, Liverpool/ENG), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon,Arsenal/ENG),
Riyad Mahrez (Algeria, Manchester City/ENG), Sadio Mane (Senegal,
Liverpool/ENG), Walid Soliman (Egypt, Al Ahly)
Women’s Player of the Year Abdulai Mukarama (Ghana), Asisat Oshoala
(Nigeria), Bassira Toure (Mali), Chrestinah Kgatlana (South Africa), Elizabeth
Addo (Ghana), Francisca Ordega (Nigeria), Gabrielle Onguene (Cameroon), Janine
van Wyk (South Africa), Onome Ebi (Nigeria), Raissa Feudjio (Cameroon), Tabitha
Chawinga (Malawi) Youth Player of the Year Achraf Hakimi (Morocco), Franck Kessie (Ivory
Coast), Wilfred Ndidi (Nigeria) Coach of the Year Aliou Cisse (Senegal), Herve Renard
(Morocco), Moine Chaabani (Esperance/TUN) Women’s Coach of the Year Desiree Ellis (South Africa), Joseph Ndoko
(Cameroon), Thomas Denner by (Nigeria) National Team of the Year Madagascar, Mauritania, Uganda Women’s National Team of the Year Cameroon, Nigeria, South Africa
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