The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced the three-man shortlist for the 2019 African Player of the Year Award.
The three, who include Riyad Mahrez (Algeria and Manchester City ), Sadio Mane (Senegal and Liverpool) and Mohamed Salah (Egypt and Liverpool) were part of an initial 30-man shortlist which was trickled down to 10 men.
In the women’s category, Ajara Nchout of Cameroon and Valerenga made it to the top three and join Asisat Oshoala of Nigeria and Barcelona and South Africa’s Beijing Phoenix FC star Thembi Kgatlana.
According to CafOnline, the nominees were selected based on their performances during the year under review, 2019. The Awards Gala will be held on Tuesday, 7 January 2020 in Hurghada, Egypt.
The final phase of voting for the men’s and women’s African Player of the Year will be selected by Head Coaches/Technical Directors and Captains of senior national teams from CAF Member Associations.
Other than the two main categories, six others will be crowned on the day. They are the Youth Player of the Year, Men’s and Women’s Coaches, Men’s and Women’s National Teams and Inter-clubs Player of the Year.
Full list of shortlists are as follows (in alphabetical order)
Men’s Player of the Year:
- Mohamed Salah (Egypt & Liverpool)
- Riyad Mahrez (Algeria & Manchester City)
- Sadio Mane (Senegal & Liverpool)
Women’s Player of the Year:
- Ajara Nchout (Cameroon & Valerenga)
- Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria & Barcelona)
- Thembi Kgatlana (South Africa & Beijing Phoenix FC)
African Interclubs Player of the Year:
- Anice Badri (Tunisia & Esperance)
- Tarek Hamed (Egypt & Zamalek)
- Youcef Belaïli (Algeria & Esperance / Ahli Jeddah)
African Youth Player of the Year:
- Achraf Hakimi (Morocco & Borussia Dortmund)
- Samuel Chukwueze (Nigeria & Villarreal)
- Victor Osimhen (Nigeria & Lille)
African Men’s Coach of the Year:
- Aliou Cisse (Senegal – Senegal)
- Djamel Belmadi (Algeria – Algeria)
- Moïne Chaâbani (Tunisia – Esperance)
African Women’s Coach of the Year:
- Alain Djeumfa (Cameroon)
- Desiree Ellis (South Africa)
- Thomas Dennerby (Nigeria)
African Men’s National Team of the Year:
- Algeria
- Madagascar
- Senegal
African Women’s National Team of the Year:
- Cameroon
- Nigeria
- South Africa
