BBC Reveals African Footballers of 2017

It's made up of five-man shortlist for the BBC African
Footballer of the Year 2017, including Nigerian
Victor Moses, has been revealed.
Other contenders are Pierre-Emerick
Aubameyang, Naby Keita, Sadio Mane, and
Mohamed Salah were unveiled during a special
live launch broadcast in London.
Cameroon’s 2017 Africa Cup of Nations winner
Arnaud Djoum was part of the panel to discuss
the nominees, as were Nigeria’s 1996 Olympic
football champion Emanuel Amuneke and Jean
Sseninde of Uganda’s national team and Crystal
Palace ladies squad.
The winner of this year’s award will be
announced on December 11, live on BBC World
TV and BBC World Service Radio, starting from
17:35GMT.
The BBC Sport and BBC Africa websites will
also carry the announcement.
Borussia Dortmund and Gabon striker
Aubameyang is on the shortlist for the fifth
consecutive year, while Liverpool’s Senegalese
star Mane is nominated for a third time.
The rest of the nominees – Guinean Keita (RB
Leipzig), Nigeria’s Moses (Chelsea) and Salah of
Egypt (Liverpool) – have never been on the
shortlist before.
Despite their Nations Cup triumph in February,
no Cameroonian has made a list selected by a
combination of Africa-based journalists and
coaches, and BBC staff.
Aubameyang, 28, has had an outstanding 2017,
scoring 35 goals for Dortmund, with whom he
won the German Cup.
The Gabonese became the first African to top
the Bundesliga scoring charts outright and only
the fourth player in Bundesliga history to hit
over 30 goals – a feat that helped him become
the sole African on Fifa’s Player of the Year
shortlist.
Joining Aubameyang in the Bundesliga team of
the season was Keita, the Guinean midfielder
who startled everybody with his form for RB
Leipzig in a brilliant debut season for both – as
the new boys finished second in the league.
The 22-year-old scored eight goals and made
seven others en route to being voted the best
midfielder in the division and earning an African
record transfer fee to Liverpool, who he will join
next July.
Crowned Liverpool’s Player of the Year, Mane,
25, was also one of just two Africans to make
the Ballon d’Or shortlist.
He also shone as Senegal reached their first
World Cup since 2002. A clinical victory over a
South Africa at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in
Polokwane sealed their place in Russia, with
Mane key to the Teranga Lions’ victory with
both assists in a 2-0 win.
Liverpool’s then-record buy finished his first
season at the club as the joint top scorer as
the Reds qualified for the Champions League
with only their second top-four finish in eight
years.
After so many years on the Chelsea sidelines,
Nigeria’s Moses finally established himself at
Stamford Bridge – and the wait was worth it as
he ended the season as a regular starter, a
Premier League champion and with an FA Cup
runners-up medal.
Moses was reborn under coach Antonio Conte,
who spotted qualities that previous Chelsea
managers hadn’t, as he converted into a right
wing-back with natural attacking instincts and
defensive diligence. He also helped Nigeria
qualify for Russia 2018.
Mo Salah was King of the Pharaohs in 2017 –
scoring a dramatic stoppage-time penalty
against Congo to fire Egypt to their first World
Cup since 1990 while also having a hand in four
of the North Africans’ five goals as they finished
runners-up at the Africa Cup of Nations.
He also performed at club level – scoring 15
goals and making 11 others as Roma finished
Serie A runners-up behind Juventus before
starting his Liverpool career in equally
impressive fashion, with 12 goals from his first
17 games.