Victor Moses in action for the Super Eagles.
Victor Moses and William Troost-Ekong are the two Nigerians in contention for the AITEO-CAF African Footballer of the Year 2017.
According to the 30-player list released by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Wednedsay, only Moses, who plays for Chelsea of England and Bursaspor of Turkey defender Troost-Ekong are in the running for Africa’s most prestigious football gong for the outgoing year.
Moses and Troost-Ekong have had a spectacular outing for both clubs and country in 2017 with Moses playing a pivotal role in Nigeria’s campaign for a place in the 2018 World Cup.
Out of the five matches played so far, Moses played four for the Super Eagles, who are already through to the mundial, scoring three times, while also being instrumental in a number of others for his country. Troost-Ekong, who moved from Belgian club Gent to Bursaspor in the new season, played all the five World Cup qualifiers, combining very effectively with Leon Balogun in the centre back.
The winner of the award will be announced on January 4, 2018 in Accra, Ghana.
The list of 30 players was drawn from 19 African countries with Cameroon providing the highest number – three. Tunisia, Congo DR, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Mali, Senegal and Morocco have two players each on the list.
Burkina Faso, Uganda, Guinea, South Africa, Gabon, Algeria, Zambia, Tanzania and Kenya have a player each on the list.
Apart from Moses and Troost-Ekong, other prominent players on the list are Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Sadio Mane, Betrand Traore, Denis Onyango and Essam El Hadary.
Others are Vincent Aboubakar, Yacine Brahimi, Mohamed Salah, Christian Atsu and Christian Bassogog. And conspicously missing is Riyad Mahrez, winner of the award in 2016.
In the African Footballer of the Year home-based category, only one Nigerian player – Junior Ajayi – made the initial list of 30 nominees. The former Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) of Ibadan player currently features for Egyptian side, Al Ahly FC.
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