Who will win the Caf player of the year award?

The Confederation of African Football (Caf) will decide who the best African player of 2019 was tonight in a ceremony in the Egyptian coastal resort of Hurghada.

The shortlists for each of the categories have been narrowed down to just three players.

It will be a good evening for English football, with each of the three shortlisted players in the Men’s Player of the Year category representing clubs from the North of the country.

Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez, who helped English champions Manchester City to the Premier League title earlier in the year, captained his country to victory in the Nations Cup in Egypt.

But it’s Liverpool who have the most nominations of the night, with strikers Mohamed Salah of Egypt and Senegal’s Sadio Mane taking the remaining two shortlist places.

Both players have had a phenomenal 12 months, proving instrumental in winning the Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Super Cup, all whilst amassing a 13-point lead over their nearest rivals Leicester.

The Reds have now gone undefeated in the league for an entire year.

If Salah wins this year, it will be the third successive year he has taken African football’s top prize.

The women's shortlist has also been narrowed down to three names with Ajara Nchout of Cameroon and Valerenga joined by Asisat Oshoala of Nigeria and Barcelona and South Africa's Beijing Phoenix FC star Thembi Kgatlana.

The final phase of voting for the men's and women's Player of the Year, as well as the male and female Coach of the Year, will be selected by head coaches/technical directors and captains of senior national teams from Caf member associations.

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