- The Leicester City winger scored 17 goals last term as the Club won the Premier League
- Mahrez has hit three goals for City on their maiden UEFA Champions League campaign
- Yaya Youre, Andre Ayew, Sadio Mane and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also nominated
Leicester City winger Riyad Mahrez has been nominated for the BBC African Footballer of the Year after scoring 17 goals during the 2015/16 season to help the Club win the Premier League.
Past winners of the prestigious prize include Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure and former Chelsea forward Didier Drogba while Mahrez, an Algerian international, is now in contention on the back of his continued achievements in a City shirt.
Mahrez is joined on the 2016 five-man shortlist by two-time winner Toure (Ivory Coast), West Ham United forward Andre Ayew (Ghana), Liverpool’s Sadio Mane (Senegal) and Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon).
The City midfielder has been in fine form again this season, scoring three goals in the UEFA Champions League to send City top of Group G with just two matches to play.
After winning the PFA Player of the Year award for the 2015/16 campaign, Mahrez was also voted as the 7th best player in world football for 2016 by Goal.com this week.
BBC African Football of the Year shortlist:
Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City)
Andre Ayew (West Ham United)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund)
Yaya Toure (Manchester City)