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| Toure in action |
Though Nigeria swept most of the awards at stake at the 2013
Glo CAF Awards held in Lagos last night, Yaya Toure was voted CAF 2013 Player
of the Year, beating Nigeria’s Mikel Obi and fellow Ivoirian, Didier Drogba to
it.
Most Nigerians had expected Mikel to
pick the award but were disappointed when Toure was announced.
For other awards, Nigeria beat
Burkina Faso to the National Team of the Year Award and the Golden Eaglets
emerged the Youth National Team of the Year.
Fair Play Award went to the Nigeria
Supporters, who were the only nominees, Coach of the Year was won by Nigeria’s
Stephen Keshi, beating Garba Manu and Paul Put of Burkina Faso.
Nigeria’s Kelechi Iheanacho also
picked the Most Promising Athlete Award, beating Ghana’s Ebenezer Assifuah and
Egypt’s Saleh Gomaa.
Referee of the Year went to Haimoudi
Djamel, while CAF Legend Award was presented to the duo of Bruno Metsu and Jose
Mehdi Faria.
Regular winners, Ah Ahly of Egpyt
won the Club of the Year Award, with other finalists South Africa’s Orlando
Pirates and CS Sfaxien losing out.
Toure has won the award back-to-back
three times from 2011, 2012 and 2013.
Toure’s form also led to him being
the only African to be included on the 23-man shortlist for Fifa’s World Player
of the Year.
His closest rival for the Caf award
was Mikel, 26, who helped Nigeria win the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South
Africa and also featured in Chelsea’s Europa League win.
Former Arsenal striker Nwankwo Kanu
was the last Nigerian star to win the prestigious award in 1999.
Ex-Chelsea favourite Drogba, 35, was
runner-up in 2012 but won the Caf award in 2006 and 2009.
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