The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has unveiled a list of thirty names for the title of African Player of the Year, as well as for the contenders for the trophies of best player in CAF interclub competitions, best young player, best coach, best club and best national team.
The nominees for the women’s trophies will be announced on July 5. The award ceremony will take place on July 21 in Rabat, Morocco.
Will Sadio Mané succeed himself, two and a half years after his previous title of African Player of the Year 2019 ?
The Senegalese, like his African champion teammates Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly, Nampalys Mendy and Saliou Ciss, is in any case in a list of thirty names for the 2022 edition.
A list that also gives pride of place to vice-champions African Egyptians (Mohamed Salah, Mohamed Elneny, Mohamed El Shenawy and Mohamed Abdelmonem) and Moroccans (Achraf Hakimi, Sofiane Boufal, Yahya Jabrane and Yassine Bounou).
Apart from Mané and Salah, only one other former winner appears among the thirty: the Algerian Riyad Mahrez.
However, the Gabonese Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is not there. The jurors preferred him elements who shone during continental competitions, such as Cameroonian Vincent Aboubakar, top scorer of AFCON 2021, and Ivorian Sébastien Haller, impressive in the European Champions League.
“A panel of technical experts, CAF legends and journalists decided on the shortlist in different categories taking into consideration the performance at all levels of the candidate between September 2021 and June 2022,” said the CAF in a statement.
Source: AfrikPage