Mahrez absent from 30-man African Player of the Year list

Riyad Mahrez, the 2016 African Player of the Year, has failed to make it onto the nominees' shortlist for this year's edition of the award.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) revealed the shortlist for the prize on its website on Wednesday.

All but seven nominees play for European clubs, with Gabon’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who was the winner in 2015, and Senegal’s Sadio Mané some of the most notable names.

The recipient of this award, as well as the Africa-Based Player of the Year, will be announced in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, on 4 January 2018.

Mahrez: the big absentee

Mahrez, 26, has struggled to reproduce the form that helped Leicester City win the Premier League title in 2016.

Last year, he won the African Player of the Year, BBC African Player of the Year and PFA Players’ Player of the Year awards. He was also nominated for the Ballon d’or, finishing seventh.

However, 2017 has been a whole different story for the Algerian.

Currently, Leicester are close to the relegation zone in the Premier League and Algeria are out of the running to reach the 2018 World Cup.

African Player of the Year

The winner for this year’s African Player of the Year and Africa-Based Player of the Year will be decided by votes from the head coaches/technical directors of the national associations affiliated to CAF, by members of the CAF Technical and Development Committee and by a panel of media experts.

Four players made it onto the shortlists for both accolades.

African Player of the Year shortlist

1. Ali Maaloul (Tunisia & Al Ahly)

2. Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso & Lyon)

3. Cedric Bakambu (DR Congo & Villarreal)

4. Christian Atsu (Ghana & Newcastle)

5. Christian Bassogog (Cameroon & Henan Jianye)

6. Denis Onyango (Uganda & Mamelodi Sundowns)

7. Eric Bailly (Cote d’Ivoire & Manchester United)

8. Essam El Hadary (Egypt & Al Taawoun)

9. Fabrice Ondoa (Cameroon & Sevilla)

10. Fackson Kapumbu (Zambia & Zesco)

11. Jean Michel Seri (Cote d’Ivoire & Nice)

12. Junior Kabananga (DR Congo & Astana)

13. Karim El Ahmadi (Morocco & Feyenoord)

14. Keita Balde (Senegal & Monaco)

15. Khalid Boutaib (Morocco & Yeni Malatyaspor)

16. Mbwana Samata (Tanzania & Genk)

17. Michael Olunga (Kenya & Girona)

18. Mohamed Salah (Egypt & Liverpool)

19. Moussa Marega (Mali & Porto)

20. Naby Keita (Guinea & RB Leipzig)

21. Percy Tau (South Africa & Mamelodi Sundowns)

22. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon & Borussia Dortmund)

23. Sadio Mane (Senegal & Liverpool)

24. Thomas Partey (Ghana & Atletico Madrid)

25. Victor Moses (Nigeria & Chelsea)

26. Vincent Aboubakar (Cameroon & Porto)

27. William Troost-Ekong (Nigeria & Bursaspor)

28. Yacine Brahimi (Algeria & Porto)

29. Youssef Msakni (Tunisia & Al Duhail)

30. Yves Bissouma (Mali & Lille)

African Player of the Year – Based in Africa shortlist

1. Achraf Bencharki (Morocco & Wydad Athletic Club)

2. Ahmed Fathi (Egypt & Al Ahly)

3. Alkhaly Bangoura (Guinea & Etoile du Sahel)

4. Ali Maaloul (Tunisia & Al Ahly)

5. Aristide Bance (Burkina Faso & Al Masry)

6. Ayman Majid (Morocco & FUS Rabat)

7. Aymen Mathlouthi (Tunisia & Etoile du Sahel)

8. Ben Malango (DR Congo & TP Mazembe)

9. Dean Furman (South Africa & Supersport United)

10. Denis Onyango (Uganda & Mamelodi Sundowns)

11. Elsamani Saadeldin (Sudan & Al Merreikh)

12. Fackson Kapumbu (Zambia & Zesco)

13. Fawzi Chaouchi (Algeria & MC Alger)

14. Geoffrey Serunkuma (Uganda & KCCA)

15. Jeremy Brockie (New Zealand & Supersport)

16. Junior Ajayi (Nigeria & Al Ahly)

17. Karim Aouadhi (Tunisia & CS Sfaxien)

18. Mohamed Meftah (Algeria & USM Alger)

19. Mohamed Ounnajem (Morocco & Wydad Athletic Club)

20. Muaid Ellafi (Libya & Ahly Tripoli)

21. Nasr Eldin Ahmed (Sudan & Hilal Obeid)

22. Oussama Darfalou (Algeria & USM Alger)

23. Percy Tau (South Africa & Mamelodi Sundowns)

24. Sabelo Ndzinisa (Swaziland & Mbabane Swallows)

25. Saber Khalifa (Tunisia & Club Africain)

26. Saladin Said (Ethiopia & Saint George)

27. Sylvain Gbohouo (Cote d’Ivoire & TP Mazembe)

28. Tady Etekiama (DR Congo & AS Vita)

29. Taha Yassine Khenissi (Tunisia & Esperance)

30. Tarek Hamed (Egypt & Zamalek)