United, Downs stars in line for African honours

Mamelodi Sundowns’ ace Percy Tau made the longlist of the nominees for both the Caf Footballer of the Year and Caf’s Footballer of the Year – Based in Africa awards.

Tau’s roar has been heard across the continent thanks to his exploits with the Brazilians and Bafana Bafana. The Sundowns’ midfielder was instrumental in the club’s quest to retain their Caf Champions League before bowing out in the quarterfinals. Tau is part of a star-studded 30-man longlist for the main award that includes his teammate Denis Onyango – the reigning Footballer of the Year – Based in Africa.

Egyptian legend Essam El Hadary, along with his countryman Mohamed Salah, Senegal’s Sadio Mane and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Gabon and Borussia Dortmund are among the favourites for the award.

The SuperSport United duo of Dean Furman and Jeremy Brockie lead the pack in the Footballer of the Year – Based in Africa award after leading Matsatsantsa a Pitori to the final of the Caf Confederation Cup. Brockie leads the scorer’s chart with 10 goals in the tournament. Tau and Onyango make up the South Africa based contingent.

The longlist will be trimmed down until they reach the final three that will be at the awards ceremony on January 4 in Accra, Ghana. The winner will be decided by votes from the head coaches or technical directors of the 54 national associations affiliated to Caf, members of the Caf technical and development committee and a panel of media experts. –