34 Nominated for Africa Footballer of the Year Award

The Confederation of African Football has revealed an initial list of 34 players for its 2018 African Footballer of the Year award.

Among them is Egyptian and Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah, who won the award last year.

Also on the list are twelve players who currently represent African clubs.

Tunisia duo Anis Badri and Taha Khenissi who both play for Esperance de Tunis are among the nominated players.

Both have enjoyed a successful year, as they were part of Esperance team that lifted Champions League earlier this month.

The second-leading scorer in the on-going CAF Confederation Cup, Jean-Marc Makusu Mundele, who plays for Congolese giants AS Vita is also in the list.

The winner will be decided by votes from the members of the CAF Technical and Development Committee, Media Experts, Legends, Coaches of the quarter-finalists of the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup and Coaches and Captains of the national teams of the 54 Member Association.

The Awards Gala will be held on Tuesday, 8 January 2019 in Dakar, Senegal.

The African Footballer of the Year award is predominantly won by players based outside Africa.

Full nominees list:

1. Abdelmoumene Djabou (Algeria & ES Setif)
2. Ahmed Gomaa (Egypt & El Masry)
3. Ahmed Musa (Nigeria & Al-Nassr )
4. Alex Iwobi (Nigeria & Arsenal)
5. Andre Onana (Cameroon & Ajax)
6. Anis Badri (Tunisia & Esperance)
7. Ayoub El Kaabi (Morocco & Hebei China Fortune)
8. Ben Malango (DR Congo & TP Mazembe)
9. Denis Onyango (Uganda & Mamelodi Sundowns)
10. Fanev Andriatsima (Madagascar & Clermont Foot)
11. Franck Kom (Cameroon & Esperance)
12. Jacinto Muondo Dala ‘Gelson’ (Angola & Primeiro de Agosto)
13. Hakim Ziyech (Morocco & Ajax)
14. Idrissa Gueye (Senegal & Everton)
15. Ismail Haddad (Morocco & Wydad Athletic Club)
16. Jean-Marc Makusu Mundele (DR Congo & AS Vita)
17. Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal & Napoli)
18. Mahmoud Benhalib (Morocco & Raja Club Athletic)
19. Mehdi Benatia (Morocco & Juventus)
20. Mohamed Salah (Egypt & Liverpool)
21. Moussa Marega (Mali & Porto)
22. Naby Keita (Guinea & Liverpool)
23. Odion Ighalo (Nigeria & Changchun Yatai, Nigeria)
24. Percy Tau (South Africa & Union Saint-Gilloise)
25. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon & Arsenal)
26. Riyad Mahrez (Algeria & Manchester City)
27. Sadio Mane (Senegal & Liverpool)
28. Taha Khenissi (Tunisia & Esperance)
29. Thomas Partey (Ghana & Atletico Madrid)
30. Wahbi Khazri (Tunisia & Saint-Étienne)
31. Walid Soliman (Egypt & Ahly)
32. Wilfried Zaha (Cote d’Ivoire & Crystal Palace)
33. Yacine Brahimi (Algeria & Porto)
34. Youcef Belaili (Algeria & Esperance)