Mohamed Salah will compete alongside the likes of Sadio Mane and Riyad Mahrez for the prestigious award.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has released a 30-man shortlist for the African Player of the Year award.
CAF cancelled the last two years’ award ceremonies due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sadio Mane was the last player to win the award back in 2019, and he is among the frontrunners to win the prize again.
Mane led Senegal to their first-ever Africa Cup of Nations trophy back in February. The Lions of Teranga then defeated Egypt in a tense play-off to secure a place in the 2022 World Cup.
Mane’s former Liverpool teammate, Mohamed Salah, is another notable nominee. The Egyptian star won Premier League’s Golden Boot for the third time before claiming the Player of the Season awards from both the Football Writers’ Association (FWA) and the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA).
Riyad Mahrez, who won the Premier League with Manchester City, is another nominee from the English top-flight. Gambia and Comoros have rare representation, with Musa Barrow and Youssouf M’Changama making the list. Both players spent impressive AFCON campaigns.
Let’s take a look at the full list of nominees for the 2022 edition of the African Player of the Year award.
African Player of the Year award: Full list of nominees
- Riyad Mahrez (Algeria & Manchester City)
- Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso & Aston Villa)
- Blati Toure (Burkina Faso & Pyramids)
- Edmund Tapsoba (Burkina Faso & Bayer Leverkusen)
- Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa (Cameroon & Napoli)
- Karl Toko Ekambi (Cameroon & Lyon)
- Vincent Aboubakar (Cameroon & Al Nassr)
- Youssouf M’Changama (Comoros & Guingamp)
- Franck Kessie (Ivory Coast & AC Milan)
- Sebastien Haller (Ivory Coast & Ajax)
- Mohamed Abdelmonem (Egypt & Al Ahly)
- Ali Maaloul (Tunisia & Al Ahly)
- Mohamed Salah (Egypt & Liverpool)
- Mohamed El Shenawy (Egypt & Al Ahly)
- Musa Barrow (The Gambia & Bologna)
- Mohamed Elneny (Egypt & Arsenal)
- Naby Keita (Guinea & Liverpool)
- Aliou Dieng (Mali & Al Ahly)
- Hamari Traore (Mali & Rennes)
- Yves Bissouma (Mali & Tottenham Hotspur)
- Achraf Hakimi (Morocco & Paris St-Germain)
- Sofiane Boufal (Morocco & Angers)
- Yahya Jabrane (Morocco & Wydad Athletic Club)
- Yassine Bounou (Morocco & Sevilla)
- Moses Simon (Nigeria & Nantes)
- Edouard Mendy (Senegal & Chelsea)
- Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal & Napoli)
- Nampalys Mendy (Senegal & Leicester City)
- Sadio Mane (Senegal & Bayern Munich)
- Saliou Ciss (Senegal & Nancy)