While much of the focus inevitably falls on the African Player of the Year accolade, the various nominees for other soccer award categories have been revealed by CAF ahead of the gala event in January.
The additional categories included Women’s Player of the Year, club and national teams of the year, coach of the year and accolades for promising young players.
Nigeria’s Manchester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho is nominated for the Most Promising Talent award, while compatriot Alex Iwobi of Arsenal is up for the Youth Player of the Year nod.
The club of the year award will likely go to Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa as CAF Champions League winners, while the national team of the year is more difficult to predict, with the likes of Senegal, Uganda and the Nigeria Under-23 side all in with a chance of securing the prize from Africa’s soccer governing body.
The winners of the various awards, including the player of the year, will be announced on Thursday, January 5 at the Glo-CAF 2016 Awards Gala in Abuja, Nigeria.
These are the nominees for all of the CAF awards:
Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria & Arsenal Ladies)
Elizabeth Addo (Ghana & Kvarnsvedensik)
Gabrielle Aboudi Onguene (Cameroon & Rossiyanka)
Janine Van Wyk (South Africa & JVW)
Raissa Feudjio Tchuanyo (Cameroon & Aland United)
Elia Meschak (DR Congo & TP Mazembe)
Kelechi Iheanacho (Nigeria & Manchester City)
Naby Keita (Guinea & RB Leipzig)
Oghenekaro Etebo (Nigeria & CD Feirense)
Ramadan Sobhi (Egypt & Stoke City)
Alex Iwobi (Nigeria & Arsenal)
Eric Ayiah (Ghana U-17)
Franck Kessie (Cote d’Ivoire & Atalanta)
Sandra Owusu-Ansah (Ghana & Supreme Ladies)
Sidiki Maiga (Mali U-20)
Florent Ibenge (DR Congo)
Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic (Uganda)
Pitso Mosimane (Mamelodi Sundowns)
Nacer Sandjak (MO Bejaia)
Florence Omagbemi (Nigeria women’s national team)
Papa Gasama, Gambia
Grishea Gehead, Egypt
Malang Diedhiou, Senegal
Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)
MO Bejaia (Algeria)
TP Mazembe (DR Congo)
Zamalek (Egypt)
Zesco United (Zambia)
DR Congo
Guinea Bissau
Nigeria U-23
Senegal
Uganda
Cameroon
Ghana
Nigeria
South Africa
Zimbabwe
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon & Borrusia Dortmund)
Riyad Mahrez (Algeria & Leicester City)
Sadio Mane (Senegal & Liverpool)
Mohamed Salah (Egypt & Roma)
Islam Slimani (Algeria & Leicester City)
Khama Billiat (Mamelodi Sundowns & Zimbabwe)
Keegan Dolly (Mamelodi Sundowns & South Africa)
Rainford Kalaba (TP Mazembe & Zambia)
Hlompho Kekana (Mamelodi Sundowns & South Africa)
Denis Onyango (Mamelodi Sundowns & Uganda)