African player of the year 2017: Victor Moses, 10 others shortlisted
Super Eagles star Victor Moses remains in the running for Confederation of African Football African Player of the Year after the controlling body for African Association Football revealed the 11 players that made the latest shortlist.
Moses, Bursaspor defender William Troost-Ekong and twenty eight other candidates were initially shortlisted for the award on November 1 before CAF pruned down the list to eleven names.
The Chelsea star's biggest rivals as he bids to win the award made the cut : Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Naby Keita (RB Leipzig), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund) and Sadio Mane (Senegal & Liverpool) .
For the first time since the inception of the award, captains of the senior men’s national teams of the affiliated National Associations will also take part in decision making process of the African Player of the Year and Player of the Year (Based in Africa).
Nigeria U23 international Junior Ajayi and nine other players are still in contention for Player of the Year (Based in Africa).The winners of the awards will be announced at on Thursday, 4 January 2018 in Accra, Ghana.
Nominees
African Player of the Year (alphabetical order)
1. Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso & Olympique Lyon)
2. Denis Onyango (Uganda & Mamelodi Sundowns)
3. Karim El Ahmadi (Morocco & Feyenoord)
4. Keita Balde (Senegal & Monaco)
5. Mohamed Salah (Egypt & Liverpool)
6. Naby Keita (Guinea & RB Leipzig)
7. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon & B. Dortmund)
8. Sadio Mane (Senegal & Liverpool)
9. Victor Moses (Nigeria & Chelsea)
10. Vincent Aboubakar (Cameroon & Porto)
11. Yacine Brahimi (Algeria & Porto)
Player of the Year (Based in Africa)
1. Achraf Bencharki (Morocco & Wydad Athletic Club)
2. Ahmed Fathi (Egypt & Al Ahly)
3. Ali Maaloul (Tunisia & Al Ahly)
4. Aristide Bance (Burkina Faso & El Masry)
5. Ben Malango (DR Congo & TP Mazembe)
6. Denis Onyango (Uganda & Mamelodi Sundowns)
7. Jeremy Brockie (New Zealand & Supersport)
8. Junior Ajayi (Nigeria & Al Ahly)
9. Mohamed Ounnajem (Morooco & Wydad Athletic Club)
10. Taha Yassine Khenisssi (Tunisia & Esperance)
Also, Super Falcons striker Asisat Oshoala tops the five-man shortlist for the Women’s Player of the Year, with Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr leading the nominees for the Coach of the Year award.
The Eagles, who will be appearing at the World Cup for the sixth time in Russia next year, could leisurely climb onto the podium to receive the National Team of the Year crown after they were shortlisted for the award alongside African champions Cameroon, Egypt, Zambia’s U-20 team and Mali’s U17 side.CAF last month named Moses and Troost-Ekong in its 30-man list for the elite award (dominated by players plying their trade outside Africa) while their compatriot Junior Ajayi, who plies in Egypt with Al Ahly, was named in the second -tier category of the African Player of the Year- based in Africa.