FIFA Player of the Year: These are the only African players to mount FIFA podium

Three African players have ever been shortlisted for the FIFA Player of the Year.

George Oppong Weah leads the list of African players who have been nominated for the FIFA Player of the Year before.

The FIFA Player of Year award was instituted in 1991 by the world football governing body to reward players who distinguish themselves for every calendar year. From 2009 to 2015 it was merged with Ballon d’Or, but they split in 2016.

Luther Mathias of Germany was the first player to be voted as the finest player in the world according to FIFA, beating off competition from Gary Lineker and Jean-Pierre Papin.

George Oppong Weah, a native of Liberia a less-fancied football nation having been discovered by Arsene Wenger and handed opportunity to ply his trade in France would later shock the rest of the world, while playing for Paris Saint Germain and AC Milan

His explosive striking abilities made him the number one choice for voters in 1995 as he beat Paolo Maldini and Jurgen Klinsman to claim the FIFA player of the Year award.

 

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He was shortlisted for the award the following year, but he missed out on it in a contest against Luis Ronaldo of Brazil and Alan Shearer.

Africa would have to wait for barely ten years before Samuel Eto Fils did the continent proud once again.

The Cameroonian legend put up a splendid display for Barcelona in 2015 and he was rewarded for his hard work with the FIFA Player of the Year shortlist.

He finished third in a contest with Ronaldinho, the eventual winner and Frank Lampard.

Africa has since struggled to come close to the award. However, Mohamed Salah has ended the 13 year wait.

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He defied all odds on his debut Premier League season, scoring 34 goals to win the top scorer award and also bagged 10 goals to propel Liverpool to the final of the UEFA Champions League.

He has been shortlisted alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric for the FIFA Player of the Year dubbed ‘The Best’.