CAF Player of the Year: Dede, Atsu shortlisted

Ghana’s duo of Andre Ayew and Christian Atsu have been nominated by the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) to challenge for the ultimate award as Africa Footballer of the Year.

The two midfielders are the only Ghanaians among a list of 37 players released by CAF, which also includes the reigning CAF Best Player, Yaya Toure of Cote d’Ivoire, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Gabon and Gervinho of Cote d’Ivoire.

Ayew and Atsu earned the nomination following an impressive performance, particularly during the continental Nations Cup showpiece Equatorial Guinea which saw Atsu emerge the Player of the Tournament, as well as scorer of the Best Goal of the Tournament.

At club level, Ayew has been in fine form since joining Swansea this season, leading to his winning the English Premiership Player of the Month last September, although Atsu has rarely made any impact at Bournemouth.

Incidentally, the English Premiership stars dominate the nomination, contributing 11 players while the leagues in Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia all contributed some number of players.

However, T.P Mazembe’s shot stopper, Robert Kidiaba, and Modather Al Tayeb ‘Karika’ of Sudan were the only players on the continent who received nominations.

Other notable names from the English premiership on the list are Sadio Mane, Seydou Keita, Victor Wanyama, Yannick Bolasie, Max Alain Gradel, Stephane Mbia, Vincent Enyiama, Ahmed Musa, Riyad Mahrez and Dieu Merci Mbokani