The Confederation of African Football (CAF) released on Wednesday the final list of nominees for the 28th edition of its annual football awards, with Liverpool star and African player of the year holder Mohamed Salah and Zamalek's Tarek Hamed as the only representatives for Egypt. On 24 November, the African football governing body announced the preliminary lists of nominees for the 2019 prizes. Hamed will be competing for the African Interclubs Player of the Year award, while Liverpool star winger Salah, the African player of the year in 2017 and 2018, is shortlisted for the African Player of the Year award. Egypt duo Mahmoud Alaa of Zamalek and Aston Villa's Mahmoud "Trezeguet" Hassan were in the preliminary lists; competing for Interclubs Player of the Year and the African Player of the Year awards respectively. According to a statement by the CAF, the shortlist of nominees was decided upon with votes from the CAF Technical and Development Committee and a panel of media experts, with an 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. The Interclubs Player of the Year will be decided upon by the head coaches and captains of the group phase of the current season of CAF Interclubs competitions," the statement added. The winners will be announced during the CAF awards ceremony on 7 January 2020 at Citadel Azure, Hurghada, Egypt. The CAF awards is an annual event to celebrate African footballers and officials who have distinguished themselves during the year. The 2019 awards feature several award categories for men's and women's football, including: African Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Youth Player of the Year, National Team of the Year, Goal of the Year, Africa Finest XI, Federation of the Year and several new award categories which will recognise exceptional contributions to African football and inspiring individuals. Full final list of nominees for CAF Awards 2019: African Player of the Year 1- André Onana (Cameroon & Ajax) 2- Hakim Ziyech (Morocco & Ajax) 3- Ismail Bennacer (Algeria & AC Milan) 4- Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal & Napoli) 5- Mohamed Salah (Egypt & Liverpool) 6- Odion Ighalo (Nigeria & Shanghai Shenhua) 7- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon & Arsenal) 8- Riyad Mahrez (Algeria & Manchester City) 9- Sadio Mane (Senegal & Liverpool) 10- Youcef Belaili (Algeria & Ahli Jeddah) African Interclubs Player of the Year 1- Anice Badri (Tunisia & Esperance) 2- Kodjo Fo Doh Laba (Togo & RS Berkane / Al Ain) 3- Taha Yassine Khenissi (Tunisia & Esperance) 4- Tarek Hamed (Egypt & Zamalek) 5- Youcef Belaïli (Algeria & Esperance / Ahli Jeddah) African Youth Player of the Year 1- Achraf Hakimi (Morocco & Borussia Dortmund) 2- Krépin Diatta (Senegal & Club Brugge) 3- Moussa Djenepo (Mali & Southampton) 4- Samuel Chukwueze (Nigeria & Villarreal) 5- Victor Osimhen (Nigeria & Lille) African Men's Coach of the Year 1- Aliou Cisse (Senegal - Senegal) 2- Christian Gross (Switzerland - Zamalek) 3- Djamel Belmadi (Algeria - Algeria) 4- Moïne Chaâbani (Tunisia - Esperance) 5- Nicolas Dupuis (France - Madagascar) African Men's National Team of the Year 1- Algeria 2- Madagascar 3- Nigeria 4- Senegal 5- Tunisia (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
