By Amosu Adeboye
Odion Ighalo is the only Nigerian player still in the running for the 2019 Africa Player of the Year award after the shortlist was reduced from 30 to 10.
The names of the 10-man nominees was published on CAF’s verified Twitter handle on Wednesday.
Ighalo’s former Eagles teammates Victor Osimhen and Wilfred Ndidi did not make the 10-man list.
Ighalo will vie for the crown with other notable names who made the cut, namely; Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Riyad Mahrez and Kalidou Koulibaly.
In the Youth Player of the Year category, Osimhen and Samuel Chukwueze are still in the running after the list was trimmed down to five.
Eagles’ coach Gernot Rohr missed out in the five-man list for Men’s Coach of the Year while former Super Falcons handler Thomas Dennerby made the Women’s Coach of the Year.
In the Women’s Player of The Year shortlist, Asisat Oshoala is the only Nigerian now left as Chiamaka Nnadozie and Uchenna Kanu were dropped.
The Super Eagles and Super Falcons were included in the men and women National Team of the Year category respectively.
The shortlist of nominees was decided by votes from a CAF Technical and Development Committee and a panel of media experts with emphasis on the nominees’ performance during the year under review, 2019.
The final phase of voting for the men’s and women’s African Player of the Year, as well as the 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.
