Because of COVID-19 and the decision to change the customary qualification time, there hasn’t been an award since 2019.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has revealed a list of 10 nominees for the African Footballer of the Year award, which will be presented later this month for the first time in three years. Senegalese sensation Sadio Mane is at the top of the list.
Mane, who won the last award in 2019, will be favored to win again after a season in which he helped Senegal to their first Africa Cup of Nations title plus qualification to the World Cup in Qatar.
He also had cup success with Liverpool at the club level but has since moved to Bayern Munich.
His former teammates Naby Keita and Mohamed Salah are also among the 10 nominees, along with Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez. Salah won the award in 2017 and 2018 and Mahrez in 2016.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the decision to switch the qualification period from the calendar year to the 2021-22 season is the reason why there has been no award for the last three years, CAF officials told the Reuters news agency.
The winner will be announced during a banquet in Rabat, Morocco on July 21. The judging panel will be composed of members of the CAF technical committee, the press, coaches, and captains of Africa’s 54 national teams.
Nominee list:
- Vincent Aboubakar (Cameroon);
- Achraf Hakimi (Morocco);
- Sebastien Haller (Ivory Coast);
- Naby Keita (Guinea);
- Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal);
- Riyad Mahrez (Algeria),
- Sadio Mane (Senegal);
- Edouard Mendy (Senegal);
- Mohamed Salah (Egypt) and
- Karl Toko Ekambi (Cameroon).
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