The title of the African Footballer of the Year has, for the past half-century, been awarded to the most outstanding African professional footballer within a calendar year.
The categories for the Glo CAF 2013 Awards are
- African Player of the Year
- African Player of the Year – Based in Africa
- National Team of the Year
- Women’s National Team of the Year
- Club of the Year
- CAF Fair Play Award
- Coach of the Year
- Most Promising Talent
- Women’s Footballer of the Year
- Referee of the Year
- CAF Legend
- Africa Fines XI
- CAF Platinum Award
This year, a couple of players have been short-listed for the award, including Victor Moses, Obi Mikel, Yaya Toure, Sunday Mba and Vincent Enyeama just to name a few.
Of all the players whose names were penned for the award, it appears to be a close contest between John Obi Mikel of Nigeria and Yaya Toure of Cote d’Ivoire who is currently the title bearer.
This year’s award ceremony, which will be held on the 9th of January 2014 in Lagos, is already looking very tight as the duo have performed well for their respective clubs; only Mikel has a better advantage on the national team having beaten Cote d’Ivoire which paraded Yaya Toure, en route winning Nigeria’s third Nations Cup trophy.
Furthermore, Mikel won silver laurels for his club side after guiding Chelsea FC to a Europa League title last season and qualifying them for the Champions League which he is currently fully involved in.
On the other hand, Cote d’Ivoire’s Toure has been a key player for Manchester City and this form has earned him a position as captain on his team along with magnificent performances on several occasions. Being the current holder, Toure stands as the favourite to beat Mikel to the crown. Time will tell if Mikel’s dazzling performance for Nigeria and Chelsea FC is enough to snatch the crown from the Ivorian Elephant.
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This article was first published on 26th November 2013
obimartins
Martins Okafor is a Sports Writer for Connect Nigeria. He has been a sport buff for years, following stories and development in leagues and international competitions. His interest led him to writing stories – reporting on sporting events. He has superior interest in soccer, but knows much about other sports. He plans to have a blog and to advance in sport journalism. You can email him at: obimartins85 [at] gmail.com
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