The credibility of Glo-CAF African Player of the Year Award faces the headlight of public scrutiny, as its organisers announce that they would strip the eventual winner of the title if he fails to attend the awards ceremony
By Blessing Ogunli
After the 2007 Glo-CAF African Footballer Year Awards, which saw the emergence of Frederic Kanoute as the African Footballer of the Year, Didier Drogba, winner in 2006, said Kanoute won by default. Drogba alleged he won the award, but was stripped of it because he did not attend the presentation ceremony that took place in Lome, the capital of Togo.
“I was told if I did not appear the rules would change and the prize would go to the runner-up. This attitude does not honour Africa, so I have pulled out of future elections,” the Ivorian skipper said last January. The Chelsea of England forward had refused to travel to Lome for the awards, claiming the ceremony would distract him in his quest to lead his country to the final of African Nations Cup, then taking place in Ghana. Drogba said it made no sense to have the awards ceremony in another country when the continent’s biggest football competition was in progress. “My refusal to travel to go Togo was for my team-mates, as you do not organise such an event just two days before an important quarter-final game of the African Cup of Nations,” he said. The Confederation of African Football, CAF, did not refute Drogba’s allegation at the time. Nine months later, it has come out with a confirmation. On 13 October at a world press conference held to unveil the nominees for this year’s edition, Suleiman Habuba, CAF’s Communications Director, announced that if a winner in any of the Player of the Year categories fails to turn up at the presentation ceremony, the runner-up will automatically become the winner. He explained that the decision was taken to give credibility to the awards. But what Habuba failed to explain was what happens if all five nominees failed to attend the award presentation ceremony.
With four of the five shortlisted players playing in England, the possibility of all of them making it to Cotonou, capital of Republic of Benin, for the awards next January seems very slim. By then, the English Premier League will be at crucial stage, making it difficult for clubs to let players travel for an awards ceremony. Mumini Alao of Complete Sports described CAF’s decision as cheap blackmail.
“Instead of exploring ways of further raising the profile of the awards and making it irresistible for players to attend, CAF has resorted to cheap blackmail. What happens if a player has a genuine force majeur? He must attend so that he would not be flogged by the sergeant-majors of African football?” asked Alao. Alao called on CAF to adopt changes in its organisation of the awards so as not to make the continent a laughing stock. Dr. Ken Egbas, Managing Partner, Trucontact Communications Limited, was also critical of CAF. He argued that the winner of an award remains the winner with or without being present at the ceremony.
He advised CAF to take a cue from other international awards and bring some level of glamour into the award so that the players will be attracted to it. “The reason why players do not attend the CAF awards is not because it is not convenient but because it is not as glamorous as it should be. They make it look like glorified secondary school awards,” Egbas said. He argued that when Europe-based African players are nominated for European awards in Europe, they attend the ceremonies. Another controversial issue is the non-inclusion of any Nigerian footballer among the nominees as well as a stellar performer like Togo’s Emmanuel Sheyi Adebayo.
While the nomination of Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Aboutrika Mohammed and Amir Zaki ahead of some Nigerian players cannot be faulted, some people argue that Adebayor and Yakubu Aiyegbeni should have been nominated. Some also reckon that Nwankwo Kanu, who helped Portsmouth to lift the English FA Cup and John Mikel Obi, who starred in Chelsea’s march to the UEFA Champions League final, should be on the shortlist. Habuba, however, defended the nomination process, saying the award is not about Nigeria but the whole continent.
“It is perfectly alright to be passionate about your country, but these awards are not about Nigerians alone. It involves other Africans and if they have done better than Nigerians, it would be wrong to leave them out,” he said. He explained that the nominations were based on results and performances and Nigerian players did not do enough during the period under review. Habuba argued that when Enyimba won the Champions League, they won club of the year, coach of the year and other awards, which they duly deserved. Alao also argued that the selection process was fair because Nigerian players do not count among the best in Africa at the moment. Oyuiki Obaseki, Chairman, Nigerian Premier League, stated that Nigerian players were not in their elements, which makes them unfit to be in the list.
Obaseki, however, expressed joy over the nomination of Stephen Worgu, a home-based player, who has been shorlisted for the award for players based on the continent. “I have no problem with the nominations. I believe Nigerian players should work harder if they want to win awards. We have won the award in the past and we’ll win it again if the players perform at the top level,” Obaseki said.
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