Who wears the Crown? : Africa Footballer of the year

Caf has released the names of 25 candidates for this year’s edition. There are 21 names for the best Africa-based player including three from Orlando Pirates

Caf has published the names of players to vie for the 2013 African Player of the Year award, as well as the second prize which goes to the African Player of the Year based in Africa award.

Three South African players are listed in the latter, Orlando Pirates' Lennox Bacela, Senzo Meyiwa and Daine Klate. The Bucs players were rewarded for finishing as runners up in the Caf Champions League.

The long list for the premier individual football accolade on the continent is made of 25 players, with Africa’s reigning champions Nigeria having the highest representatives with five players, followed by Cote D’Ivoire, providing three candidates, one of whom is the reigning African Player of the Year, Yaya Toure and two-time winner Didier Drogba.

Cape Verde, who broke onto the continental scene this year at the Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa, also have two men representing them, Platini and Ryan Mendes.

Egypt’s Mohamed Aboutrika and Ethiopian Saladin Said are the only players based in Africa on the list for the flagship award.

The category for the Africa-based Player of the Year has 21 nominees, including three from Caf Champions League winners Al Ahly.

The winners will be announced at the Glo-Caf Awards Gala scheduled for Thursday, January 9, 2014 in Lagos, Nigeria.

Click to see the full list

ALL ABOUT AFCON 2013

         AFCON 2013 Guide

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The 29th Africa Cup of Nations, hosted by South Africa, kicks off in Johannesburg, Soccer City, on January 19, 2013 and runs until February 10, 2013, at Soccer City.

Duration:

Afcon 2013 will be held over a 22-day period from the opening match to the finals. There will be six match-free days in between, meaning, there will be 16 match days. For the most part, there will be two matches daily on those days. 

Teams and Groups:

Sixteen countries will be taking part in the tournament, with South Africa qualified as hosts. They are joined by 15 countries from the qualifying rounds that have produced casualties in a proportion never seen in the history of the tournament.

Missing in Action:

The traditional powerhouses of the tournament will be missing, including Egypt, who have won the last three of the last four tournaments and seven in total (1957, 1959, 1986, 1998, 2006, 2008, 2010), Cameroon (1984, 1988, 2000, 2002) and Senegal.