No Nigerian player made it to the 10-man list for this year edition of African Footballer of the Year 2015, according to statement releases out by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Duo of Vincent Enyeama and current super eagles captain Ahmed Musa were listed for the 35-man list candidate for the biggest prize in African football, but they were unable to made it to the 10-man list by CAF .
The omission of Nigeria player from the 10-man list by CAF means that the nation need to wait for another years in order for any player to win the coveted award.
The last time Nigeria won the award was 16 years ago, when former Super Eagles captain, Kanu Nwankwo, was voted as the best player on the continent.
Though former super eagles player Vincent Enyeama made it to the final three last year, but due to the nation not to qualified for Africa Cup of Nations in the period under review, the chances of the Super Eagles players were further weakened down.
In the 10-man shortlist published on CAF’s official website, three-time winner, Yaya Toure, is still top on list and he is joined by the likes of André Ayew (Ghana & Swansea), Mohamed Salah (Egypt & Roma) Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon & Borussia Dortmund) and Sadio Mané (Senegal & Southampton).
Also, the shortlist for the African Player of the Year (Based in Africa) 2015 were also made public
The winner will be decided by votes of the Coaches or Technical Directors of the National Associations affiliated to CAF.
The awards gala will be held on Thursday, 7 January 2016 in Abuja, Nigeria.
African Player of the Year 2015
André Ayew (Ghana & Swansea)
Aymen Abdennour (Tunisia & Valencia)
Mudather Eltaib Ibrahim ‘Karika’ (Sudan & El Hilal)
Mohamed Salah (Egypt & Roma)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon & Borussia Dortmund)
Sadio Mané (Senegal & Southampton)
Serge Aurier (Cote d’Ivoire & Paris Saint Germain)
Sofiane Feghouli (Algeria & Valencia)
Yacine Brahimi ( Algeria & Porto)
Yaya Touré (Cote d’Ivoire & Manchester City)
African Player of the Year 2015 (Based in Africa)
Abdeladim Khadrouf (Morocco & Moghreb Tetouan)
Baghdad Bounedjah ( Algeria & Etoile du Sahel)
Felipe Ovono (Equatorial Guinea & Orlando Pirates)
Kermit Erasmus (South Africa & Orlando Pirates)
Mbwana Aly Samatta (Tanzania & TP Mazembe)
Mohamed Meftah ( Algeria & USM Alger)