Nigeria’s duo of Victor Moses and William Troost-Ekong have been shortlisted along with 28 other players for the African Footballer of the Year award.
The 30-man shortlist was announced on Wednesday and Moses, a key figure in Chelsea’s Premier League title triumph last season, is in contention to win the prize.
Moses, deployed in a right wing-back role by Antonio Conte at the start of last season, was a regular for the Blues as they secured the title, with the Nigerian flourishing due to a combination of his natural attacking qualities and the ability to defend in a mature way when the opposition are in possession.
As well as his success at club level, Moses was an integral part of the Nigeria squad which qualified for next summer’s World Cup finals in Russia.
He scored a brace in the 3-1 qualifying win over Algeria, as well as netting as the Eagles recorded a 4-0 victory against Cameroon.
Moses will be aiming to become only the second Chelsea player to lift the award after Didier Drogba took the prize on two separate occasions, in 2009 and 2006.
Both John Mikel Obi and Michael Essien finished in the top three at various points.
Leicester City’s Riyad Mahrez was last year’s winner.
Votes from a combination of head coaches and technical directors from national teams, as well as members of CAF’s (Confederation of African Football) Technical and Development Committee and a panel of media experts will determine the winner.
The winner will be announced at a ceremony in the Ghanaian capital Accra on January 4, 2018.
Nigerian energy giants, Aiteo, are the headline sponsors of next year’s edition that will see players, officials and administrators who distinguished themselves exemplary during the year under review being honoured for their efforts towards the development of the game on the continent.
The nominated players are:
Ali Maaloul (Tunisia & Al Ahly), Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso & Lyon), Cedric Bakambu (DR Congo & Villareal), Christian Atsu (Ghana & Newcastle), Christian Bassogog (Cameroon & Henan Jianye), Denis Onyango (Uganda & Mamelodi Sundowns), Eric Bailly (Cote d’Ivoire & Manchester United), Essam El Hadary (Egypt & Al Taawoun), Fabrice Ondoa (Cameroon & Sevilla), Fackson Kapumbu (Zambia & Zesco), Jean Michel Seri (Cote d’Ivoire & Nice), Junior Kabananga (DR Congo & Astana), Karim El Ahmadi (Morocco & Feyenoord).
Others are; Keita Balde (Senegal & Monaco), Khalid Boutaib (Morocco & Yeni Malatyaspor), Mbwana Samata (Tanzania & Genk), Michael Olunga (Kenya & Girona), Mohamed Salah (Egypt & Liverpool), Moussa Marega (Mali & Porto), Naby Keita (Guinea & RB Leipzig), Percy Tau (South Africa & Mamelodi Sundowns), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon & Borussia Dortmund), Sadio Mane (Senegal & Liverpool), Thomas Partey (Ghana & Atletico Madrid), Victor Moses (Nigeria & Chelsea), Vincent Aboubakar (Cameroon & Porto), William Troost-Ekong (Nigeria & Bursaspor), Yacine Brahimi (Algeria & Porto), Youssef Msakni (Tunisia & Al Duhail) and Yves Bissouma (Mali & Lille)