Chelsea's Victor Moses, Arsenal's Alex Iwobi Miss Out On Shortlist For BBC AFOTY

Arsenal's Alex Iwobi And Chelsea's Victor Moses names were conspicuously missing from the five man shortlist announced Saturday evening for the BBC African Footballer of The Year.

Liverpool pair Mohamed Salah (Egypt) and Sadio Mane (Senegal) made the BBC cut along with Morocco's Mehdi Benatia, Senegal's  Kalidou Kouliibaly and Atletico Madrid's Thomas Partey who is one of Ghana's most reliable player.

Austin Jay Jay Okocha is the only Nigerian to have won the BBC prize which has given the Confederation of African Football (CAF) version of the award a run for its money.

The vote for the players nominated opened on Saturday, 17 November  and closes on Sunday, 2 December.

The voting result and subsequently the winner will be revealed in a programme on BBC World News on Friday, 14 December the BBC website informed on Saturday evening.

The shortlist was compiled by a panel of African football expert albeit the names of the former stars were not revealed by the BBC website.

Liverpool forward Salah won the award in 2017.

Aside Salah, other African winners of the gong include: Didier Drogba,, Michael Essien, Yaya Toure, Jay Jay Okocha and Riyad Mahrez.