President Ahmad has explained the exclusion of the African Player of the Year Based in Africa category from the 2017 CAF awards.

Ahmad claims that would have amounted to duplication.

In the past, players plying their trades on the contingent were awarded alongside the prestigious Player of the Year award.

''The best is always the best. We don’t have two bests,'' Ahmad said at Wednesday's press conference.

''The players based in Africa are also capable of winning the award so there is no need to categorize them.''

The 2017 CAF awards will be held in Accra on Thursday, 4 January.