The Confederations of African Football (CAF) on Wednesday released the names of nominees for the 2017 African Player of the Year (overall) and African Player of the Year (based in Africa).
30 players from around the continent have been nominated for the two categories.
The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2017 winning side Cameroon have three players nominated for the overall award, more than any other country.
AFCON man of the tournament Christian Bassogog, goalkeeper Fabrice Ondoa and forward Vincent Aboubakar have been included in the nominee list.
The overall Player of the Year category was dominated by foreign-based players, including Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah, Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang , Manchester United defender Eric Bailly, RB Leizpig midfielder Naby Keita, among many others.
Conspicuously missing from that list are some top players, including Riyad Mahrez (Algeria, Leicester City) and Victor Wanyama (Kenya, Tottenham Hotspurs).
North African players dominated the African Player of the Year (based in Africa) category, with Tunisia leading the pack with five nominations. Morocco and Algeria have three nominations each, while Egypt has two.
The winner will be decided by votes from the Head Coaches/Technical Directors of the National Associations affiliated to CAF, members of the CAF Technical and Development Committee and a panel of Media Experts.
The Awards Gala will be held on Thursday, 4 January 2018 in Accra, Ghana.
See full list here; 2017 African Player of the Year nominees.
