4 players who should not have been nominated for the 2022 CAF Player of the Year award

The 30-man nominees’ list for the CAF Player of the year award can be described as surprising at best with a number of questionable selections that raised eyebrows.

Let us narrow it down to four undeserving nominees, probably because someone else deserved it more or they were simply not good enough within the period in consideration.

Senegalese defensive midfielder Nampalys Mendy endured a rather forgettable season with Leicester City for whom he only managed 15 appearances across all competitions in the 2021/22 season.

The 30-year-old only started 17 games all season long and five of those came at the AFCON 2021 which Senegal won.

If the Africa Cup of Nations is the sole criteria for Mendy’s inclusion, it is worth noting that he played five out of seven possible games in Senegal’s title run.

So why was he nominated? It wouldn’t be surprising if Nampalys himself doesn’t know but CAF clearly works in mysterious ways.

Another defensive midfielder who warmed the bench for his Premier League club but is somehow considered one of the 30 best players on the continent by CAF, at least Nampalys Mendy won the AFCON.

Mohamed El Neny played all seven games for Egypt on their way to the AFCON 2021 final which they lost to Senegal and didn’t stand out in any of those games.

His club form offers no confidence either as he only started 11 games for Arsenal in all competitions last season for Arsenal, marking 17 total appearances.

The Premier League bench warmer trend continues with Bertrand Traore who only started two games for Aston Villa last season and played 10 total matches for his club across all competitions.

The Burkina Faso winger didn’t have a great AFCON either, as he played five out of seven games for his country as they finished fourth and only scored one goal.

Which really makes one wonder what exactly the criteria was for selecting these players? CAF must be held accountable to defend these inclusions, this is ridiculous.

The 32-year-old rotational left full-back of a French second division club also made the shortlist of the best African players in the world.

With 24 league appearances out of a possible 38 games for AS Nancy, one can only be grateful that Saliou Ciss was at least playing matches for his club, albeit in the French Ligue 2.

He played six out of seven games as the starting left fullback for Senegal as they won the AFCON 2021 crown which of course should qualify him as one of the very best African players in the world going by CAF logic.