Arsenal star, Alex Iwobi, is the only Nigerian left in the running to be named the African Footballer of the Year by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
CAF has trimmed the initial list down to 10 players and Iwobi’s fellow Premier League stars like Riyad Mahrez, Mohammed Salah, Sadio Mane and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang make the cut.
Two other Nigerian players, Onome Ebi and Asisat Oshoala, are in the run for the women’s player of the year.
The Super Falcons’ coach, Thomas Dennerby, is being nominated alongside two others in the Women’s Coach of the Year category.
Also, the Super Falcons who only recently won their ninth African title, have been nominated for Women’s National Team of the Year.
CAF explained that the shortlisted nominees were decided by votes from the members of the CAF Technical & Development Committee.
The final phase will involve votes from CAF Media Experts, Legends, Coaches of the quarter-finalists of the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup, and Coaches & Captains of the 54 Member Associations.
The Awards Gala will be held on January 8, 2019 in Dakar, Senegal.
See the full shortlists for CAF Awards 2018 below.
African Player of the Year
1. Alex Iwobi (Nigeria & Arsenal)
2. Andre Onana (Cameroon & Ajax)
3. Anis Badri (Tunisia & Esperance)
4. Denis Onyango (Uganda & Mamelodi Sundowns)
5. Mehdi Benatia (Morocco & Juventus)
6. Mohamed Salah (Egypt & Liverpool)
7. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon & Arsenal)
8. Riyad Mahrez (Algeria & Manchester City)
9. Sadio Mane (Senegal & Liverpool)
10. Walid Soliman (Egypt & Ahly)
Women’s Player of the Year
1. Abdulai Mukarama (Ghana & Northern Ladies)
2. Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria & Dilian Quanjian)
3. Bassira Toure (Mali & AS Mande)
4. Chrestinah Thembi Kgatlana (South Africa & Houston Dash)
5. Elizabeth Addo (Ghana & Seattle Reign)
6. Francisca Ordega (Nigeria & Washington Spirit)
7. Gabrielle Aboudi Onguene (Cameroon & CSKA Moskow)
8. Janine Van Wyk (South Africa & Houston Dash)
9. Onome Ebi (Nigeria & Hekan Huisanhang)
10. Raissa Feudjio (Cameroon & Aland United)
11. Tabitha Chawinga (Malawi & Jiangsu Suning)
Youth Player of the Year
1. Achraf Hakimi (Morocco & Borussia Dortmunmd)
2. Franck Kessie (Cote d’Ivoire & AC Milan)
3. Wilfred Ndidi (Nigeria & Leicester City)
Men’s Coach of the Year
1. Aliou Cisse (Senegal)
2. Herve Renard (Morocco)
3. Moine Chaabani (Esperance)
Women’s Coach of the Year
1. Desiree Ellis (South Africa)
2. Joseph Brian Ndoko (Cameroon)
3. Thomas Dennerby (Nigeria)
Men’s National Team of the Year
1. Madagascar
2. Mauritania
3. Uganda
Women’s National Team of the Year
1. Cameroon
2. Nigeria
3. South Africa
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