体坛英语新闻：3 Ghanaians listed as African best footballers

ACCRA, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has named three members of Ghana's senior national soccer team, the Black Stars, among 10 players shortlisted to compete for the 2011 African footballer of the year.

Olympique Marseille's Andre Ayew, Kevin-Prince Boateng of Italian giants AC Milan and former Sunderland striker Asamoah Gyan were on the list of nominations announced at a press conference here on Wednesday.

Other players include Cote d'Ivoire trio, Didier Drogba (Chelsea), Yaya Toure (Manchester City) and Gervinho (Arsenal), and Cameroun's Samuel Eto' Fils (Anzhi Makhatchkala, Russia).

The rest were Senegal and Lille's Moussa Sow, Adel Taraabt of Morocco and Queens Park Rangers (England) as well as Mali's Seydou Keita who also plays for Barcelona.

Addressing the media, George Andah, chief operating officer (COO) of Globacom (Glo), sponsors of the awards, said the partnership between Globacom and CAF was motivated by Glo's belief in sports as a vehicle for stimulating the development of the continent.

He said one of the company's core corporate social responsibilities was to kindle socio-economic development of the youths in all the markets where Globacom operated through sports and sponsorships.

Since Globacom took over the sponsorship of the awards in 2005, the profile of the prize had risen in prominence as the African Footballer of the year was now celebrated and glamorized across the continent and the rest of the world.

"Globacom has also achieved its promise of raising the profile of African football players by transforming the Glo/CAF awards into a high profile and exclusive ceremony rich in content and entertainment, thereby successfully projecting the African continent positively to the world," he added.

The objective of the CAF awards is to honor African men and women who have excelled and also contributed to the development of the game of football in and outside the African continent.

The award is bestowed purely on merit for exemplary contributions toward the development and promotion of football, on and off the pitch.

The annual event also aspires to encourage and enhance the performances of the sporting men and women to maintain the high standard and quality of football administration and management in Africa.

The shortlist will be trimmed to five from which the final three nominees would be revealed for the award.

The winner will be announced at the awards ceremony to be held at the Banquet Hall of the State House here on December 22.

Samuel Eto'o won last year's African Player of the Year awards in Egypt for a record fourth time.