Two Nigeria internationals Victor Osimhen and Moses Simon have been nominated for the 2020 Prix Marc-Vivien Foé, awarded to the best African player in Ligue 1 for the 2019-2020 season.
The nine other African stars in the running for the prestigious award as revealed by France 24 and RFI on Friday are Yunis Abdelhamid (Reims), Denis Bouanga (Saint-étienne), Andy Delort (Montpellier), Habib Diallo (Metz), Idrissa Gueye (PSG), édouard Mendy (Rennes), M’Baye Niang (Rennes), Islam Slimani (Monaco) and Hamari Traoré (Rennes).
The jury, consisting of about 100 journalists specializing in French and African football, selected the eleven nominees.
Senegal have the most representatives included on the shortlist with four, followed by Nigeria and Algeria with two each, while Morocco, Gabon and Mali have contributed one player each.
Osimhen had a successful debut season in the Ligue 1, scoring 13 goals and assisting four others in 27 games, while Levante loanee Simon was involved in 10 goals (5 goals, 5 assists) in 26 games.
Three players with caps for the Super Eagles Taye Taiwo, Brown Ideye and Vincent Enyeama have been nominated for the award in the past, with the former Lille goalkeeper winning it in 2014.
Previous Winners
2009: Marouane Chamakh (Bordeaux / Morocco)
2010: Gervinho (Lille / Ivory Coast)
2011: Gervinho (Lille / Ivory Coast)
2012: Younès Belhanda (Montpellier / Morocco)
2013: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Saint-Etienne / Gabon)
2014: Vincent Enyeama (Lille / Nigeria)
2015: André Ayew (Marseille / Ghana)
2016: Sofiane Boufal (Lille / Morocco)
2017: Jean Mickaël Seri (Nice / Ivory Coast)
2018: Karl Toko Ekambi (Angers/ Cameroon)
2019: Nicolas Pépé (Lille / Ivory Coast)
