The Confederation of African Football have announced their five finalists for the 2016 Glo-CAF African Player of the Year award with no Nigerian on the list.
CAF had initially released a long list of 30 players for the award, which included three Nigerians: Mikel Obi, Ahmed Musa and Kelechi Iheanacho.
But the Nigerians were not included on Tuesday when CAF released via Twitter their five-man shortlist of Riyad Mahrez, Islam Slimani, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Saido Mane and Mohamed Salah.
CAF also on Tuesday in Cairo announced the top five nominees for the 2016 African Player of the Year (Based in Africa) in the Glo-CAF Awards.
The players were shortlisted from a thirty man -list earlier nominated for the African Player of the Year and 25 players who made the list for the Player of the Year (Based in Africa) category.
Borussia Dortmund and Gabon striker Aubameyang won the award last year, beating four-time winner Yaya Toure to second place.
Senegal and Liverpool winger Sadio Mane has had a great year, switching from Southampton to the Reds after eye-catching performances for club and country.
Salah has been AS Roma and Egypt’s standout player in 2016 in Serie A, UEFA Champions League and the Africa Cup of Nations and World Cup qualifiers.
Algeria star Riyad Mahrez not only helped Leicester City win a shock English Premier League title in 2016 , he was also voted the best player in the league.
Mahrez’s compatriot Slimani was in superb form for Sporting Lisbon, which earned him a move to Leicester City.
In the African Player of the Year (based in Africa) category, the five shortlisted players include the quartet of Dennis Onyango, Hlompho Kekana, Keegan Dolly and Khama Billiat from the 2016.
African Champions League winning side, Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa, while T.P Mazembe player, Rainford Kabala from Zambi,a completes the list.
Other categories of the awards to be released by CAF in the coming weeks include Most Promising Talent Award, National Team of the Year, Football Manager of the Year, Africa’s Finest Eleven, Goal of the Year and Save of the Year. The rest are Referee of the Year, CAF Fair Play Award and African Legend Award.
The winners will be decided by votes from the head coaches and Technical Directors of the national associations affiliated to CAF.
The winners will be unveiled at the Glo-CAF Awards Gala night which will take place on Thursday, January 5, 2017 at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, Nigeria.
Five-Man Shortlist For 2016 African Player of the Year;
1. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon & Borrusia Dortmund)
2. Riyad Mahrez (Algeria & Leicester City)
3. Sadio Mane (Senegal & Liverpool)
4. Mohamed Salah (Egypt & Roma)
5. Islam Slimani (Algeria & Leicester City)
Five-Man Shortlist For 2016 African Player of the Year (Based in Africa);
1. Khama Billiat (Mamelodi Sundowns & Zimbabwe)
2. Keegan Dolly (Mamelodi Sundowns & South Africa)
3. Rainford Kalaba (TP Mazembe & Zambia)
4. Hlompho Kekana (Mamelodi Sundowns & South Africa)
5. Denis Onyango (Mamelodi Sundowns & Uganda)
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