Earlyface

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has on Wednesday, revealed the nominees for the African Player of the Year and African Player of the Year based in Africa 2017. 
 
The Awards Gala will be held on Thursday, 4 January 2018 in Accra, Ghana.
 
Super Eagles and Chelsea star, Victor Moses and Bursapor’s William Troost-Ekong are nominated for the former award while Junior Ajayi of Al Alhy nominated for the later award.
 
Thirty (30) players each have been nominated for the two topmost categories.
 
The winner will be decided by votes from the Head Coaches/Technical Directors of the National Associations affiliated to CAF, members of the CAF Technical and Development Committee and a panel of Media Experts.
 
The nominees for African Player of the Year are;
 
1. Ali Maaloul (Tunisia & Al Ahly)
 
2. Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso & Lyon)
 
3. Cedric Bakambu (DR Congo & Villareal)
 
4. Christian Atsu (Ghana & Newcastle)
 
5. Christian Bassogog (Cameroon & Henan Jianye)
 
6. Denis Onyango (Uganda & Mamelodi Sundowns)
 
7. Eric Bailly (Cote d’Ivoire & Manchester United)
 
8. Essam El Hadary (Egypt & Al Taawoun)
 
9. Fabrice Ondoa (Cameroon & Sevilla)
 
10. Fackson Kapumbu (Zambia & Zesco)
 
11. Jean Michel Seri (Cote d’Ivoire & Nice)
 
12. Junior Kabananga (DR Congo & Astana)
 
13. Karim El Ahmadi (Morocco & Feyenoord)
 
14. Keita Balde (Senegal & Monaco)
 
15. Khalid Boutaib (Morocco & Yeni Malatyaspor)
 
16. Mbwana Samata (Tanzania & Genk)
 
17. Michael Olunga (Kenya & Girona)
 
18. Mohamed Salah (Egypt & Liverpool)
 
19. Moussa Marega (Mali & Porto)
 
20. Naby Keita (Guinea & RB Leipzig)
 
21. Percy Tau (South Africa & Mamelodi Sundowns)
 
22. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon & Borussia Dortmund)
 
23. Sadio Mane (Senegal & Liverpool)
 
24. Thomas Partey (Ghana & Atletico Madrid)
 
25. Victor Moses (Nigeria & Chelsea)
 
26. Vincent Aboubakar (Cameroon & Porto)
 
27. William Troost-Ekong (Nigeria & Bursaspor)
 
28. Yacine Brahimi (Algeria & Porto)
 
29. Youssef Msakni (Tunisia & Al Duhail)
 
30. Yves Bissouma (Mali & Lille)
 
The nominees for African Player of the Year – Based in Africa are;
 
1. Achraf Bencharki (Morocco & Wydad Athletic Club)
 
2. Ahmed Fathi (Egypt & Al Ahly)
 
3. Alkhaly Bangoura (Guinea & Etoile du Sahel)
 
4. Ali Maaloul (Tunisia & Al Ahly)
 
5. Aristide Bance (Burkina Faso & Al Masry)
 
6. Ayman Majid (Morocco & FUS Rabat)
 
7. Aymen Mathlouthi (Tunisia & Etoile du Sahel)
 
8. Ben Malango (DR Congo & TP Mazembe)
 
9. Dean Furman (South Africa & Supersport United)
 
10. Denis Onyango (Uganda & Mamelodi Sundowns)
 
11. Elsamani Saadeldin (Sudan & Al Merreikh)
 
12. Fackson Kapumbu (Zambia & Zesco)
 
13. Fawzi Chaouchi (Algeria & MC Alger)
 
14. Geoffrey Serunkuma (Uganda & KCCA)
 
15. Jeremy Brockie (New Zealand & Supersport)
 
16. Junior Ajayi (Nigeria & Al Ahly)
 
17. Karim Aouadhi (Tunisia & CS Sfaxien)
 
18. Mohamed Meftah (Algeria & USM Alger)
 
19. Mohamed Ounnajem (Morocco & Wydad Athletic Club)
 
20. Muaid Ellafi (Libya & Ahly Tripoli)
 
21. Nasr Eldin Ahmed (Sudan & Hilal Obeid)
 
22. Oussama Darfalou (Algeria & USM Alger)
 
23. Percy Tau (South Africa & Mamelodi Sundowns)
 
24. Sabelo Ndzinisa (Swaziland & Mbabane Swallows)
 
25. Saber Khalifa (Tunisia & Club Africain)
 
26. Saladin Said (Ethiopia & Saint George)
 
27. Sylvain Gbohouo (Cote d’Ivoire & TP Mazembe)
 
28. Tady Etekiama (DR Congo & AS Vita)
 
29. Taha Yassine Khenissi (Tunisia & Esperance)
 
30. Tarek Hamed (Egypt & Zamalek)
 
The reigning African footballer of the year is Riyad Mahrez but he does not make the list this year.