Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) Player of the Year 2019 Sadio Mane, Former Liverpool teammate Mohammed Salah and Compatriot Edouard Mendy of Chelsea have been shortlisted to win the CAF player of the year category.
The award making a return this year after being cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will be held in Rabat, Morocco with winners decided by votes from captains and coaches of the Member Associations, selected journalists, CAF Technical Study Group and CAF legends.
Meanwhile, the coach of the year award will see Aliou Cissé, Senegalese coach and Walid Regragui, winner of the CAF Champions League with Wydad as the big favorites.
Joining the party is Pitso Mosimane ex Al Ahly coach, Carlos Queiroz ex Egypt patron and Ghana’s Tom Saintfiet.
In the women’s Player of the Year category; four-time winner Asisat Oshoala of Nigeria is in the hunt for a fifth crown, facing stiff opposition from Cameroonian Ajara Nchout Njoya and Zambia midfielder Grace Chanda.
The women coach of the year category will see Bruce Mwape (Zambia), Desiree Ellis (South Africa), Jerry Tshabalala (Mamelodi Sundowns) and Reynald Pedros (Morocco) battle it out.
CAF has however reviewed the selection process for this category and factored the ongoing TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations finals in Morocco as a criterion in deciding a winner befitting of the status of the award and women’s football in general.
The winner will be announced on Saturday 23rd July 2022 during the final match of the Women’s AFCON.
The event will be streamed live on pay television network, StarTimes, from 10pm.
Speaking ahead of the showcase, StarTimes Regional Marketing Director Mr. Aldrine Nsubuga said, “We are proud as a broadcaster to bring the continent’s most prestigious football award ceremony at the comfort of our subscriber’s homes. It’s every player’s dream to stand out either individually, club or at country categories and we happy to cover these moments live.”