The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has chosen the top 3 players in contention for the African player of the year awards, and it includes two Premier League footballers.
At a press conference held on Monday in Abuja, Nigeria; Yaya Toure, Andre Ayew and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were revealed as the players in the three-man shortlist for the African player of the year award. While for the African Player of the Year – Based in Africa award, the top three finalists were – Baghdad Boundjah (Algeria, Etoile du Sahel), Mbwana Aly Samata (Tanzania, TP Mazembe) and Robert Kidiaba (DR Congo, TP Mazembe) , according to the official . CAF website.
Midfielder Yaya Toure, who plays for Cote D’Ivoire and Manchester City, has won the award four times in a row since 2011, but a recent slump in form due to advancing age and two very able rivals in the form of Swansea and Ghana forward Andre Ayew and Borussia Dortmund’s goal-machine Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Gabon, means that the award is wide open this year.
Previous recipients of the award include the likes of Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto’o.
Aubameyang is the odds on favorite
Although Yaya Toure has been one of the best players around these last few years, not just in Africa but the entire world, he is not on the same level due to advancing age and decreasing fitness. This means that after four years of winning the African player of the year the 32-year-old will now probably have to relinquish the title.
Although Andre Ayew is a great striker, the award this year should ideally go to Gabon forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has scored 24 goals for Borussia Dortmund in 21 appearances across all competitions . He is one of the top scorers in Europe and has been an unstoppable goal scoring threat, his endeavors making him one of the most feared strikers in the world.
