Mane, who recently joined Bayern, and Mahrez, will be hoping to stop Salah from winning the biggest individual prize in African football for the 3rd time
By Kehinde Okeowo
The usual suspects dominated the list released by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for the men’s nominees for the 2022 Caf Player of the Year award.
Man City winger, Riyad Mahrez, Liverpool striker, Mohamed Salah, and the latest Bayern Munich recruit, Sadio Mane headlined the men nominated to contest for the biggest 2022 male prize.
The long list also comprises 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 (Cote d’Ivoire & AC Milan), Sebastien Haller (Cote d’Ivoire & Ajax), Mohamed Abdelmonem (Egypt & Al Ahly), and Mohamed Elneny (Egypt & Arsenal).
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Others are Mohamed Shenawy (Egypt & Al Ahly), Musa Barrow (Gambia & Bologna), Naby Keita (Guinea & Liverpool), Aliou Dieng (Mali & Al Ahly)Hamari Traore (Mali & Rennes), Yves Bissouma (Mali & Tottenham Hotspur), Achraf Hakimi (Morocco & Paris Saint-Germain), Sofiane Boufal (Morocco & Angers), Yahya Jabrane (Morocco & Wydad Athletic Club), Yassine Bounou (Morocco & Sevilla), Edouard Mendy (Senegal & Chelsea), Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal & Napoli), Nampalys Mendy (Senegal & Leicester City), Saliou Ciss (Senegal & Nancy), Ali Maaloul (Tunisia & Al Ahly) with the only Nigerian being Moses Simon (Nantes),
Egyptian striker, Salah, will be hoping to win the award for the third time, but Manchester City’s Mahrez and Mane, who recently signed for Bundesliga champions, Bayern Munich, have a say in who picks arguably the biggest individual prize for African footballers.
Pitso Mosimane who led Al Ahly to a third straight Caf Champions League final before walking away, Aliou Cisse who won the Africa Cup of Nations for Senegal for the first time in their history and Mandla Ncikazi who led Orlando Pirates to the CAF Confederation Cup final will all be jostling for the Coach of the Year (Men) award.
Other awards up for grabs include Interclub Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year, National Team of the Year, and Club of the Year, while the nominees for the women’s categories will be announced in due course according to CAF.
The ceremony will be held ahead of the final of the Women’s Cup of Nations (WAFCON) scheduled to take place between July 2 and July 23 in Morocco.
The period under consideration for the award is from September 2021 to June 2022.
