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Three Egyptians have been included among 34 players nominated for the CAF Player of the Year award for 2018.
CAF have announced the preliminary list of nominees, which included 34 players, with two of the team playing in the Egyptian Premier League.
Al Ahly winger Walid Soliman made the shortlist following his performances with the Reds, which guided them to the CAF Champions League final.
Soliman scored six goals and provided four assists in 13 games in the Champions League, as well as netting eight times in last season’s league campaign, which Al Ahly won.
Al Masry forward Ahmed Gomaa was also named in the shortlist, after guiding the Port-said based-club to the Confederation Cup semi-finals and helping them finish fourth in the league last season.
Photo: Ahmed Awaad/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Last year’s winner Mohamed Salah is another Egyptian on the list, and is joined by Liverpool teammates Sadio Mane and Naby Keita.
The Egyptian international could become the first Arab player to win the award back-to-back, espcially after his heroic performances for Liverpool and Egypt in 2018.
The list also witnessed another five nominees playing in the English Premier League, namely Man City’s Riyad Maherz, Alex Iwobi and Aubameyang of Arsenal, Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye, Wilfried Zaha of Crystal Palace.
12 of the 34 players are also based in Africa, with the likes of Abdelmoumene Djabou, Anis Badri, Ben Malango, Frank Kom, Ismail Haddad, Mahmoud Benhalib, and former Wadi Degla player Jean-Marc Makusu making the cut.
The winner will be announced during the Awards Gala ceremony, which will be held on Tuesday, 8 January 2019 in Dakar, Senegal.
According to the CAF website, the winner for the African Player of the Year award will be decided by the following:
1.CAF Technical & Development Committee
2. Media Experts, Legends, Coaches of the quarter-finalists of the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup.
3. Coaches and Captains of the national teams of the 54 Member Associations.
