The Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Sunday announced the shortlist for the annual CAF Awards, featuring the top three contenders for all award categories.
Egyptian international and Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah is competing against Riyad Mahrez (Algeria & Manchester City) and Sadio Mane (Senegal & Liverpool) for the African Player of the Year.
Tarek Hamed, an Egyptian player from the Zamalek sporting club, is contending for the African Interclubs Player of the Year, against Anice Badri (Tunisia & Esperance), and Youcef Belaïli (Algeria & Esperance / Ahli Jeddah).
The shortlist for the top three nominees for each category was reached following votes from a CAF Technical & Development Committee and a panel of media experts, with an emphasis on the nominees performance during the year under review, the CAF said on Sunday.
It also included votes from a select panel of CAF Legends, made up of former winners of the prestigious African Player of the Year award. The legends took part in the voting process for the Player of the Year (Men & Women).
The final phase of voting for the men’s and women’s African Player of the Year, as well as male and female Coach of the Year, will be selected by Head Coaches/Technical Directors and Captains of senior national teams from CAF Member Associations.
Meanwhile, the Interclubs Player of the Year will be decided upon by the Head Coaches and Captains for the group phase of the current season of the CAF Interclubs competitions.
The award winners for each category will be announced during the CAF Awards ceremony on Tuesday, January 7 2020, at the Albatros Citadel Sahl Hasheesh, Hurghada, Egypt.
The event will celebrate African footballers and officials who have distinguished themselves during 2019. There will also be several new award categories in recognition of exceptional contributions to African football and inspiring individuals.
Salah previously won the African Player of the Year award two times in 2018 and 2017.
