Mohamed Salah completed a memorable day for Egyptian football by retaining his African Player of the Year award in Senegal Tuesday (Jan 8). The 26-year-old Liverpool star finished first with club-mate Senegalese Sadio Mane and Arsenal and Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang the other finalists.
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah has won the African Footballer of the Year award for the second year in succession. The Egyptian forward was voted the winner at the Confederation of African Football's (CAF) 2018 awards ceremony in Dakar on Tuesday.
Salah beat his Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane and Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who play for Senegal and Gabon respectively, to the prize. He edged the same two players last year in a vote which is decided by the technical directors and head coaches of 56 CAF member associations.
Aubameyang has finished in the top three on five occasions, winning once in 2015.
It was a good day for Egyptian football all round, with Egypt being awarded the right to host the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. Cameroon was scheduled to host this summer's tournament but it was stripped of the honour in November due to slow preparations.
Egypt comfortably beat South Africa, the only other team to bid, in a vote.
