Mane, Osimhen, Kudus Lead Nominations For CAF Player of the Year Awards

• CAF has released the 30-man shortlist for the Player of the Year award
• Victor Osimhen and Mohammed Kudus are listed among the contenders
• Sadio Mane is the current holder of the award after success with Senegal

Senegalese forward Sadio Mane, Nigeria's Victor Osimhen and Arsenal's Thomas Partey have all been nominated for the Africa Player of the Year award.

The trio are joined by 27 other nominees for the coveted award, currently held by Al-Nassr star, Mane.

In a list released by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), West Ham midfielder Mohammed Kudus and Riyad Mahrez of Al-Ahli also made the 30-man shortlist, as reported by CAF's official website.

For the first time, a category for the best African goalkeeper of the year has been included in the awards, with Andre Onana and Yassine Bounou set to battle for the top gong.

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Ghana's Ernest Nuamah will face competition from Dango Ouattara of Burkina Faso and Gift Orban of Nigeria for the African Young Player of the Year award.

Other categories up for grabs are the Men's Team of the Year and the Men's Club of the Year.

Mane won the CAF Player of the Year award in 2022 after helping Senegal win the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon, as reported by Al Jazeera.

The awards ceremony will be held in Morocco on December 11 this year.

Here are the 30 players nominated

1. Ramy Bensebaini (Algeria and Borussia Dortmund)

2. Riyad Mahrez (Algeria and Al-Ahli)

3. Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso and Bayer Leverkusen)

4. Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa (Cameroon and SSC Napoli)

5. Vincent Aboubacar (Cameroon and Besiktas)

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6. Ibrahima Sangare (Cote d’Ivoire and Nottingham Forest)

7. Seko Fofana (Cote d’Ivoire and Al-Nassr)

8. Chancel Mbemba (DR Congo and Olympique Marseille)

9. Fiston Mayele (DR Congo and Pyramids)

10. Mahmoud Abdel Moneim 'Kahraba' (Egypt and Al Ahly)

11. Mohamed Abdelmonem (Egypt and Al Ahly)

12. Mohamed ElShenawy (Egypt and Al Ahly)

13. Mohamed Salah (Egypt and Liverpool)

14. Mohammed Kudus (Ghana and West Ham United)

15. Thomas Partey (Ghana and Arsenal)

16. Serhou Guirassy (Guinea and VfB Stuttgart)

17. Yves Bissouma (Mali and Tottenham Hotspur)

18. Achraf Hakimi (Morocco and Paris Saint-Germain)

19. Azzedine Ounahi (Morocco and Olympique Marseille)

20. Hakim Ziyech (Morocco and Galatasaray)

21. Sofyan Amrabat (Morocco and Manchester United)

22. Yahya Jabrane (Morocco and Wydad Athletic Club)

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23. Yassine Bounou (Morocco and Al-Hilal)

24. Youssef En-Nesyri (Morocco and Sevilla)

25. Peter Shalulile (Namibia and Mamelodi Sundowns)

26. Victor Osimhen (Nigeria and SSC Napoli)

27. Sadio Mane (Senegal and Al Nassr)

28. Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal and Tottenham Hotspur)

29. Percy Tau (South Africa and Al Ahly)

30. Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane (Tunisia and Ferencvaros).

Osimhen makes Ballon d'Or awards top 10

Earlier, Sports Brief reported on Nigerian international, Osimhen finishing among the top 10 in the world in the 2023 Ballon d’Or rankings.

During the 2022/2023 season, the Super Eagles star marksman led Napoli to the Serie A title for the first time in more than three decades.

Osimhen scored 26 league goals last season, netting a total of 31 times in 39 matches across all competitions during the club campaign.