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Wanyama nominated for African Player of the Year award

October 12th, 2015 1 min read

Harambee Stars skipper and Southampton midfielder Victor Wanyama has made it in the 37- man list of the nominees for the 2015 Caf- African Player of the Year award.

“Big Vic”, who has been in scintillating form for the Saints as well as featuring prominently for Kenya in the World Cup and African Cup of Nation qualifiers, will battle it out with ‘big boys’ led by holder, Ivorian, Yaya Toure, Gambian attacker Pierre -Emerick Aubameyang, Ghanaian and Swansea City attacking midfielder Andre Ayew as well as a host of other stars.

ALGERIA DOMINATE

The list published by Caf on its portal on Sunday evening is however dominated by Algeria, who have produced six nominees in Yacini Brahimi (Porto, Portugal),Riyad Mahrez (, Leicester City, England),Faouzi Ghoulam (Napoli, Italy), Hillel Soudani (Dynamo Zagreb, Croatia), Bassem Morsi (Zamalek ,Egypt) and Baghdad Bonjah (Etoile du Sahel, Tunisia).

Wanyama was first nominated in 2013 but did not make the final three-man list.

The Kenyan captain alongside Sudan’s Modather Al Tayeb are the only players from Eastern Africa to make the cut.

FOUR-STRAIGHT YEARS

Toure, who turns out for Manchester City in England, is the current holder having won the individual accolade for four- straight years and will be aiming at setting a record as the first player to have won the gong for five-straight years.

Former Cameroonian hit-man Samuel E’too, won the gong four times– the first three years being back- to- back.

The 37- man list will be whittled down to three ahead of a gala night whose date is yet to be announced where the winners will be feted. National Team coaches and Technical Directors vote for the award.