Ghana fails to net nomination for African Footballer of the Year award

Black Stars players

Ghana has failed to get nomination for this year’s BBC African Footballer of the Year award that gives the public the privilege to vote for their best African footballer of the year.

None of Ghana Black Stars’ players, plying their trade both home and abroad, made it to the five-man shortlist announced by the BBC Saturday.

Five Ghanaian footballers have won the award since its inception in 1992.

Abedi Pele, who powered the Black Stars to the 1992 Nations Cup final in Senegal, which they lost on penalties, won the inaugural award while playing for French club Marseille.

In 2001, Samuel Kuffour who played for Bayern Munich as a defender and helped the team to win three straight Bundesliga titles beat Diouf and Sierra Leone’s Mohammed Kallon to win the award.

As the most expensive African footballer when he signed for Chelsea in August 2005, Michael Essien in 2006 beat competition from Aboutrika, Eto’o, Drogba and Angola international Flavio to take home the prize.

Four years later in 2010, Ghana’s captain Asamoah Gyan grabbed the title having beat competition from Dede Ayew, Toure, Drogba and Eto’o. He was at the time playing for Sunderland.

Son of Abedi Pele, Dede Ayew, was the man of the moment in 2011when he earned the plaudits of the public to emerge the best BBC African footballer.

The Marseille player was up against Toure and his Ivorian compatriot Gervinho, with Samuel Eto’o from Cameroon and Seydou Keita of Mali.

Ghana did not get nomination again until 2015 when Ivorian Toure saw off competition from Aubameyang, Ayew, Yacine Brahimi of Algeria and the Senegalese Mane to win the award.

In 2016, Dede Ayew came up once more for the prize but lost out to Riyad Mahrez of Algeria.

Up for the 2017 best African footballer of the year award are Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Gabon; Naby Keita of Guniea; Senegal’s Sadio Mane; Victor Moses of Nigeria and Egypt’s Mohamed Salah.

The public could from now until 6:00pm on November 27, vote for their favourite player through online voting or SMS to win the award.

Click here to vote for your favorite player to win the award