Its Mikel Vs Toure At Glo African Footballer Of The Year Today (See Full Nominee Lists)

The 2013 Glo-CAF Awards ceremony is just hours away. African footballers and administrators are eagerly looking forward to this evening to find out who will be winners and losers in the event slated to honour Africans who have distinguished themselves in the Beautiful Game in the last one year.

Already, sponsors of the event, Globacom Limited, is not sparing anything to make this awards night a memorable one at the prestigious Eko Hotel in Lagos.

Fourteen years ago was the last time a Nigerian tasted the sweetness of being crowned the king of African football. Nigeria’s football legend, Nwankwo Kanu, who survived a heart condition that could have ended his fledgling career, raced to the top honour in 1999. Since then, the drought set in.

Nigeria that dominated the initial stage of the prime football honour list in the continent, with Rashidi Yekini winning the sophomore edition (1993),  Emmanuel Amuneke (1994), Kanu (1996) and Victor Ikpeba (1997), was no longer considered worthy to be crowned Africa’s best.

It was just like the Africa Cup of Nation (AFCON) that eluded the Super Eagles since 1994. But  after 19 years of being an outsider in a football fiesta that Nigeria ought to dominate, considering the size of the country and the talents that abounds here, the jinx got broken last February in South Africa. Eagles returned to the summit of African football once more. Now, everyone is talking of a Nigeria emerging tops again.

Will it be the turn of Nigeria and Chelsea midfield stalwart, John Mikel Obi to emerge Africa’s best? Will Mikel’s contributions to both club and country be considered worthy enough to emerge Africa’s best this evening? All that will be unveiled this evening at a colourful ceremony planned by Globacom to serenade the football family.

Already, opinion polls favoured Mikel to pick the award for being a key part of the Nigerian national team that won the AFCON and the Chelsea team that lifted the Europa Cup in 2013.

If Mikel succeeds, it will be the sixth time that the trophy will be coming to Nigeria with Kanu as the only footballer to have nipped it twice. It will also be the icing on the cake of Nigeria whose national team did not only won the AFCON 2013, but also emerged the first to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Mikel played vital roles in both successes.
However, wishes are no horses. Those who voted in that opinion poll freely expressed their minds on what they wished to happen. But the national coaches and members of CAF’s technical and media committees on whose shoulders rest the final verdict, may have a different opinion of who deserves the award most amongst the trio of Mikel, Toure and Drogba.

Other Nigerians running for individual awards include Stephen Keshi (Coach of the Year Award), Kelechi Iheanacho (Most Promising Talent) and the Sunday Mba who will battle Egyptian duo of  Ahmed Fathy and Mohamed Abou Trika for African Player of the year (based in Africa) category. The Super Eagles is also in the running for the Team of the Year award.

During the prestigious ceremony, winners in 11 categories, voted for by African coaches and captains of national teams, will also be unveiled.

These include the African Footballer of the Year, the African Player of The Year (based in Africa), National Team of the Year, Club of the Year, and Coach of the Year. Other categories are the Most Promising Talent, Referee of the Year, Legend of the Year, Fair Play Award, Platinum Award and Africa’s Finest XI.

African leaders, past and present football icons will converge to witness the coronation of Africa's best football assets. Globacom has been sponsoring the annual CAF Awards since 2005.

THE CATEGORIES

*National Team of the Year
Burkina Faso
Ethiopia
Nigeria

*Youth National team of the Year
Nigeria U 17

*Club of the Year
Al Ahly
CS Sfaxien
Orlando Pirates

*Fair Play Award
Nigerian Supporter

*Coach of the Year
Manu Garba
Stephen Keshi
Paul Put

*Most Promising Talent
Ebenezer Assifuah
Saleh Gomaa
Kelechi Iheanacho

*Referee Award
Alioum Neant
Haimoudi Djamel
Papa Bakary Gassama

*Legend Award
Bruno Metsu
Mehdi Faria
PAST WINNERS
1992 Abedi AYEW PELÉ (Ghana)
1993 Rashidi YEKINI (Nigeria)
1994 Emmanuel AMUNEKE (Nigeria)
1995 George WEAH (Liberia)
1996 Nwankwo KANU (Nigeria)
1997 Victor IKPEBA (Nigeria)
1998 Mustapha HADJI (Morocco)
1999 Nwankwo KANU (Nigeria)
2000 Patrick MBOMA (Cameroun)
2001 El-Hadji DIOUF (Senegal)
2002 El Hadji DIOUF (Senegal)
2003 Samuel ETO'O (Cameroun)
2004 Samuel ETO'O (Cameroun)
2005 Samuel ETO'O (Cameroun)
2006 Didier DROGBA (Côte d’Ivoire)
2007 Frédéric KANOUTE (Mali)
2008 Emmanuel ADEBAYOR (Togo)
2009 Didier DROGBA (Côte d’Ivoire)
2010 Samuel ETO'O (Cameroun)
2011 Yaya TOURE (Côte d’Ivoire)
2012 Yaya TOURE (Côte d’Ivoire)

A Walk Down Memory Lane
The annual CAF Awards enters its 22nd edition this year.
From 1992 to 2012, (Ghana’s Abedi Pele who won the first edition to Ivorian Yaya Toure, the defending champion of the last edition), 14 players have laid claim to the most prestigious individual honour in African football.

Eto’o has been crowned an unprecedented four times - 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2010, whilst Senegalese forward, El Hadji Diouf won the award twice in succession; 2001 and 2002 just as Toure in 2011 and 2012.
However, the first player to have been named CAF African Footballer of the Year on two occasions remain ex-Super Eagles captain, Nwankwo Kanu, in 1996 and 1999 before Drogba duplicated the feat in 2006 and 2009.

Winners of the prestigious honour have come from either the midfield or attack; and that tradition will be respected yet again this year as the contenders are within that scope.

In addition, the 14 players to have been decorated since 1992 had and continue to remain amongst the foremost African ambassadors of the world’s most popular sport.

They are also several others who were closer yet too far, including Ivorian goalkeeper Alain Gouaméné in 1992; Moroccan defender Noureddine Naybet (sixth in 1993); Nigerian Daniel Amokachi regularly featured among the top ten while Chadian Japhet N'Doram was virtually handicapped by the non-presence of his national team at the final phase of a major continental championship. South African defender Mark Fish also settled for sixth position in 1996. Ghanaian defender Samuel Kuffour also narrowly missed out on two occasions, 1999 and 2001.

When the roll call for the laureates is launched, there is one noticeable observation; Nigeria is the country which has the biggest number of laureates with five awards in total, two for Kanu, one each for Emmanuel Amuneke, Rashidi Yekini and Victor Ikpeba.

Patrick Mboma won it once coupled with Eto’o’s four-time feat also gives Cameroun five titles, Cote d’Ivoire has four in Drogba (twice) and Toure (twice) whilst Diouf is responsible for the only two titles in the name of Senegal.

One-time winners include Ghana – Abedi Pele, Liberia – George Weah (the only African player to have been crowned FIFA World Footballer of the Year), Morocco – Mustapha Hadji, Mali – Frederic Kanoute and Togo – Emmanuel Adebayor.

Another common feature is that all winners plied their trade in Europe at the time of their coronation.

For the last seven years, the Awards Gala has been sponsored by cellular telecommunications outfit, Globacom, who have raised the bar of excellence with splendid ceremonies in cities such as Abuja, Accra, Lome, Lagos and Cairo. This year, the Gala returns to Lagos for the first time since the 2008 edition