Ten nominees for African Young Player of the Year

The Confederation of African Football has announced the ten players nominated for the African Young Player of the Year award. They include talents already playing at the highest level in Europe.

Algeria's Ibrahim Maza, who now plays for Bayer Leverkusen, is one of the main favourites. He is joined by Morocco's Ayyoub Bouaddi of Manchester City, and Ivory Coast's Yan Diomandé, who has moved to Real Madrid.

Other promising players are also in the running: Morocco's Abdellah Ouazane, who plays for Ajax Amsterdam; and Ibrahim Mbaye, a former Paris Saint-Germain prospect who is now at Aston Villa. The list also includes Christian Kofane (Cameroon), Christ Inao (Ivory Coast) of Fiorentina, Hamza Abdelkarim (Egypt) of FC Barcelona, Ghana's Caleb Yirenkyi, who plays for Coventry City, and Mali's Ismaël Kamissoko, who plays for Etoiles Mandé.

Stiff competition

The selection highlights how early African talents are emerging. The nominees have shown what they can do on the pitch over the past year, both for their clubs and at international level.

The previous winner of the award is Othmane Maamma. The nominees will have to prove they deserve this prestigious title at the upcoming CAF Awards.