Yaya Toure has another chance to
win his inaugural BBC African Footballer of the Year award after making the
shortlist for the fifth straight year.
Also joining the Manchester City
and Ivory Coast star among the five nominees for the 2013 edition announced
Monday were Nigerians Victor Moses and John Obi Mikel, Burkina Faso’s Jonathan
Pitroipa and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Gabon.
The winner, who will be
announced on December 2, will be chosen by a fans’ text and website vote after
the shortlist was drawn up by 44 journalists from across Africa.
None of this year’s five
contenders have yet won the award, while Pitroipa and Aubameyang are the first
nominees from their respective countries.
The 24-year-old Aubameyang ended
the 2012/13 season with 19 goals for Saint Etienne, which put him second in the
list of top scorers in the French Ligue 1, while he also helped them win the
French Cup to claim his first trophy as a professional.
His form then saw him earn a
pre-season transfer ahead of the current European campaign to Champions League
runners-up Borussia Dortmund, and he has already scored seven goals in 11 games
for the German side.
Pitroipa has already won one
major award, with the 27-year-old winger named player of the tournament at the
Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa after helping surprise package Burkina
Faso reach the final.
Meanwhile Mikel and Moses both
starred for Nations Cup winners Nigeria as the Super Eagles lifted the trophy
for the first time in 19 years.
The 26-year-old Mikel also won
the Europa League with Chelsea, for whom Moses, 22, scored six goals in 2013
before joining English Premier League rivals Liverpool on a season-long loan,
where he also scored on his debut for the Merseysiders in September.
However, his tally has been
topped in 2013 by midfielder Toure who has 13 goals so far for the calendar
year including several superb free-kicks, although his form was not enough to
ensure City retained a Premier League title won last season by local rivals
Manchester United. (PM NEWS)
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