Nigeria and super eagles captain John Obi Mikel has been excluded from the final list of five African players that will vie for the 2016 African player of the year award.

The lack of playing time of Mikel Obi this season at Chelsea has made the Super Eagles of Nigeria captain, John Obi Mikel excluded from the final list of five African players that will vie for the 2016 African player of the year award.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) made available the list of the 5 finalist on Tuesday, November 22, 2016 at the body’s headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.
A statement by CAF reads:
‘The top five was decided by votes from the members of the CAF Media Committee, CAF Technical & Development Committee and half of the 20-member Panel of Experts (10 persons).
‘For the African Player of the Year, they are;
1. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon & Borrusia Dortmund)
2. Riyad Mahrez (Algeria & Leicester City)
3. Sadio Mane (Senegal & Liverpool)
4. Mohamed Salah (Egypt & Roma)
5. Islam Slimani (Algeria & Leicester City)

‘For the African Player of the Year (Based in Africa), the top five are;
1. Khama Billiat (Mamelodi Sundowns & Zimbabwe)
2. Keegan Dolly (Mamelodi Sundowns & South Africa)
3. Rainford Kalaba (TP Mazembe & Zambia)
4. Hlompho Kekana (Mamelodi Sundowns & South Africa)
5. Denis Onyango (Mamelodi Sundowns & Uganda)
‘For the final phase, votes from the Head Coaches/Technical Directors of the 54 National Associations affiliated to CAF plus Associate Members, Reunion Island and Zanzibar, together with the other half of the 20-member Panel of Experts (10 persons) will be counted towards the determination of the eventual winners.
‘The 2016 Glo-CAF Awards Gala sponsored by telecommunication giants, Globacom, will be held on Thursday, 5 January 2017 in