CAF opens public voting for Footballer of the Year for first time

For the first time in African Football, the top three nominees are being put to a public vote to decide the winner of the CAF African Footballer of the year 2017.

Egypt star Mohammed Salah of Liverpool and his club mate Sadio Mane alongside Gabon star Pierre Emerick Augbameyang were shortlisted last week in Accra.

The voting process will start on Sunday, 24 December.

Also, the public will select the Team of the Year with the top 11 players selected individually by position.

Early this month, fans voted Salah as the BBC African Footballer of the Year.

Public voting will be the final of three stages determining the winner of the award.

The first stage saw the consultation of players, and the second, coaches.

Meanwhile, voting for the strongest ‘team’ in Africa will be conducted via the CAF Facebook page.

Details of the voting process will be revealed in a CAF ceremony, taking place on January 4.

The changes come as part of a wide range of new rules implemented by CAF in 2017. In addition to the new voting and selection process,

CAF removed the award for ‘Best Africa-based Player’ in December, saying the professional committee entrusted to select the best player for an African team lacked the competence for the job.