Johannesburg: Liverpool sharpshooter Sadio Mane is expected to become the first African football headline-maker of 2020 by winning the ‘Player of the Year’ award in Egypt next week.
The January 7 ceremony will set in motion a year sure to be full of drama on and off the field with 2022 World Cup and 2021 Cup of Nations qualifiers in the mix.
Consistent Liverpool scorer and Senegal talisman Mane is favoured to become the second star from his country after El Hadji Diouf to be named ‘Player of the Year’. His rivals are Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah, the Egyptian who won the last two editions, and Algerian Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City.
The ‘Player of the Year’, and the winners of seven other male and female categories, will be announced at a ceremony in Egyptian Red Sea resort Hurghada.
A couple of weeks after the awards banquet, Egypt will host another eagerly anticipated event, the draw in Cairo for the group stage of World Cup qualifying.
The latest FIFA rankings are expected to determine the seedings, meaning Senegal, Tunisia, Nigeria, Algeria, Morocco, Ghana, Egypt, Cameroon, Mali and DR Congo will be in pot one.
Agencies
