No South African player was named on the short-list of 37 for the 2015 African Footballer of the Year award, but four from Orlando Pirates are among the preliminary selections for the secondary award of best African-based player. Kermit Erasmus, Thamsanqa Gabuza, Oupa Manyisa and goalkeeper Felipe Ovono were on a list of 24 released by the Confederation of African Football on Sunday.The lists are compiled by staff members at CAF and reflect a poverty of expertise as they highlight goal-scorers and popular performances, but fail to recognise any consistency of performance.Ovono's selection devalues the merited choice of his three club- mates, although it could be on the basis of his penalty-saving ability for the Equatorial Guinea national team at the African Nations Cup finals at the start of the year.Senegal-born Pirates midfielder Issa Sarr was also outstanding in the campaign and should have been included on the list.The "African Player of the Year - Based in Africa" will be presented at the annual CAF gala .The list will be cut to a final selection of three, with TP Mazembe's Mbwana Aly Samatta surely the hot favourite for his goal-scoring exploits in the Champions League.The African Footballer of the Year award is likely to be heavily contested as Yaya Toure seeks to win for a record-setting fifth successive year. Dede Ayew of Ghana and Sadio Mané, from Senegal, are the other candidates.The pick of Africa's finestAfrican Footballer of the Year (37 nominees):Baghdad Bounedjah (Etoile Sahel), Yacine Brahimi (Porto), Sofiane Feghouli (Valencia), Faouzi Ghoulam (Napoli), Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City), El-Arbi Hillel Soudani (Dinamo Zagreb), Rudy Gestede (Aston Villa), Heldon Ramos (Rio Ave), Thievy Bifouma (Granada), Ferebory Doré (Angers), Vincent Aboubakar (Porto), Stephane Mbia (Trabzonspor), Nicolas Nkoulou (Marseille), Yannick Bolasie (Crystal Palace), Robert Kidiaba (TP Mazembe), Dieumerci Mbokani (Norwich City), Bassem Morsy (Zamalek), Mohamed Salah (Roma), Javier Balboa (Al Faisaly), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund), Christian Atsu (Bournemouth), André Ayew (Swansea City), Ibrahima Traore (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Serge Aurier (Paris Saint-Germain), Gervinho (Roma), Max Alain Gradel (Bournemouth), Yaya Touré (Manchester City), Vincent Wanyama (Southampton), Vincent Enyeama (Lille), Ahmed Musa (CSKA Moscow), Seydou Keita (Roma), Mehdi Benatia (Bayern Munich), Mame Biram Diouf (Stoke City), Sadio Mane (Southampton), Mudather Eltaib (Al Hilal), Aymen Abdennour (Valencia), Yassine Chikhaoui (Al Gharafa)Africa-based Footballer of the Year (24 nominees):Zinedine Ferhat, Mohamed Meftah, Carolus Andriamahitsinoro (all USM Alger), Baghdad Bounedjah (Etoile Sahel), Abdelmalek Ziaya (Entente Setif), Mohamed Koffi, Hazem Emam, Bassem Morsy (all Zamalek), Boris Moubhio (AC Leopards), Robert Kidiaba (TP Mazembe), Felix Ovono, Kermit Erasmus, Thamsanqa Gabuza, Oupa Manyisa (all Orlando Pirates), Malick Evouna (Al Ahly), Roger Assale, Sylvain Gbohouo, Mbwana Samatta (all TP Mazembe), Djigui Diarra (Stade Malien), Abdeladim Khadrouf (Moghreb Tetouan), Bakry 'Al Medina' Babiker (Al Merrikh), Mudather Eltaib (Al Hilal), Ahmed Akaichi, Hocine Ragued (both Esperance).AFP..