Gabon’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has won Africa’s top football honour, beating four-time winner Ivorian Yaya Toure and Ghana’s Andre Ayew to the 2015 Caf African Footballer of the Year award at a ceremony in Abuja, Nigeria on Thursday.
The 26-year-old polled 143 points, seven more than Toure whilst Ayew finished a distant third with 112 points to claim the prize for the first time, capping a season where he has put up stellar performances for his Bundesliga outfit, Borussia Dortmund.
He becomes the first player from the German league to win the award having finished as runner-up in the 2014 edition staged in Lagos.
The recipient of the award is decided by national team coaches and technical directors in Africa – with Yaya and Samuel Eto’o the most-honoured individuals with four titles each.
Aubameyang was also included on the African finest XI shortlist that had the trio of Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen, Kelechi Nwakali and Azubuike Okechukwu on the substitutes bench.
Osimhen was named Young Player of the Year for his record-breaking feat at the 2015 Fifa U17 World Cup while Oghenekaro Etebo was named Promising Player of the Year.
Tanzanian striker Mbwana Aly Samatta was named African Player of the Year based in Africa while Gaelle Enganamouit of Cameroon was named Women’s Player of the Year.
WINNERS IN FULL
AFRICAN PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Pierre-Emerick AUBAMEYANG (Gabon)
AFRICAN PLAYER OF THE YEAR – BASED IN AFRICA – Mbwana Aly SAMATTA
WOMEN’S PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Gaelle ENGANAMOUIT (Cameroon)
YOUTH PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Victor OSIMHEN (Nigeria)
MOST PROMISING TALENT OF THE YEAR – Etebo Peter OGHENEKARO (Nigeria)
COACH OF THE YEAR – Herve RENARD (France) – Former Coach of Cote d’Ivoire
REFEREE OF THE YEAR – Bakary Papa GASSAMA (Gambia)
NATIONAL TEAM OF THE YEAR – Cote d’Ivoire
WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM OF THE YEAR – Cameroon
CLUB OF THE YEAR – TP Mazembe (DR Congo)
AFRICAN LEGEND AWARD
Charles Kumi GYAMFI (Ghana)
Samuel MBAPPE LEPPE (Cameroon)
AFRICA’S FINEST XI
Goalkeeper: Robert Muteba KIDIABA (DR Congo)
Defenders: Serge AURIER (Cote d’Ivoire), Aymen ABDENNOUR (Tunisia), Mohamed MEFTAH (Algeria)
Midfielders: Andre AYEW (Ghana), Yaya TOURE (Cote d’Ivoire), Sadio MANE (Senegal), Yacine BRAHIMI (Algeria),
Forwards: Mbwana Aly SAMATTA (Tanzania), Pierre-Emerrick AUBAMEYANG (Gabon), Baghdad BOUNEDJAH (Algeria)
Substitutes
Djigui DIARRA (Mali)
Azubuike OKECHUKWU (Nigeria)
Kelechi NWAKALI (Nigeria)
Zinedine FERHAT (Algeria)
Adama TRAORE (Mali)
Victor OSIMHEN (Nigeria)
Kermit ERASMUS (South Africa)