The five candidates for the BBC African Footballer of the Year 2012 award have been revealed. Yaya Toure has made the shortlist for the second consecutive year and he is joined by his Ivory Coast team-mate Didier Drogba, Senegal’s Demba Ba, Morocco’s Younes Belhanda and Zambia skipper Christopher Katongo.
The winner will be decided by African football fans, who have until 1830 GMT on Thursday, 13 December to vote for their choice.
You can either vote via this page or by sending an SMS from your phone to +44 7786 20 50 75:
Text 1 for Demba Ba
Text 2 for Younes Belhanda
Text 3 for Didier Drogba
Text 4 for Christopher Katongo
Or Text 5 for Yaya Toure
Standard international text rates apply, please check with your service provider. Texts are limited to one text per mobile phone number.
The winner will be announced on Monday, 17 December.
It has been an outstanding year for all the nominees, with four of the players winning silverware.
Drogba could not have bid a better farewell to Chelsea at the end of the season after scoring the winning penalty to clinch the Champions League trophy for the first time in the club’s history, and also scoring what proved to be the winning goal in the FA Cup final.
His Ivorian compatriot, Toure, was a key player for Manchester City as the Sky Blues were crowned Premier League champions for the first time – and their first top-flight title for 44 years.
A domestic title was also earned by Belhanda, whose 12 goals and all-round performances were a huge factor as Montpellier pulled off a major surprise to win the French Ligue 1 championship.
On the international scene there was yet another first as Katongo led from the front for Zambia, skippering them to a shock victory in the Africa Cup of Nations, where Chipolopolo beat Ivory Coast on penalties in the final.
Ba fared less well at the Nations Cup, with Senegal going out of the competition at the group stage, but he enjoyed personal success with Newcastle where he ended last season as the club’s top scorer with 17 goals, helping them to finish fifth in the table.
Previous winners of BBC African Footballer of the Year award:
2011 – Andre ‘Dede’ Ayew (Marseille & Ghana)
2010 – Asamoah Gyan (Sunderland & Ghana)
2009 – Didier Drogba (Chelsea & Ivory Coast)
2008 – Mohamed Aboutrika (Al Ahly & Egypt)
2007 – Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal & Togo)
2006 – Michael Essien (Chelsea & Ghana)
2005 – Mohamed Barakat (Al Ahly & Egypt)
2004 – Jay Jay Okocha (Bolton & Nigeria)
2003 – Jay Jay Okocha (Bolton & Nigeria)
2002 – El Hadji Diouf (Liverpool & Senegal)
2001 – Sammy Kuffour (Bayern Munich & Ghana)
2000 – Patrick Mboma (Parma & Cameroon)
BBC
Christopher Katongo Named In BBC African Footballer of the Year 2012 Shortlist added by on
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Fellow Zambians Lets take it upon ourselves to ensure that our man gets it. We should all sacrifice a bit of our airtime and vote in numbers.
What tribe is Katongo Christopher??? If he is from Luapula, Muchinga or Northern provinces i won’t give him m vote. But if his father from what i hear is from Monze, then he is a son of a full Tonga bull and I shall give him my vote.
Thats too much jealous for a fellow countryman dear…
vote for Himoonde then, despite him not being on the list. slot him on number 7! how do u like that? i guess no bemba had a hand in picking Katongo. grow up guys. at least we speak one language which “football united”
Surely why use a Tonga name to write rubbish here. You are just disguising yourself as Tonga to make them look tribal yet you are from Kolwestan. Please use your really name.
naimwe ba hantobolo do you need to tribalise things here.some of you bloggers you must be serious,you are the same people who promote tribalism.tutsis and hutus fights were as a result of people like you trying to tribalise everything.
bloggers ignore aba bapuba ba hantobolo and lets give our man katongo a vote,atleast it will be a honour to him and to mother zambia once he gets it.lets vote for him
That is good I wish next time Kalaba could get the award too his instrumental too
What tribe is Katongo? Is he from North-western province or Luapuls and related areas?
It is the Man in National colors.Proudly Zambian
Already voted. If it evens buying 10 different SIM cards here in Australia, l will do it for Chris. It’s Zambia in the making….
Hantobolo ulichinangwa…..how do u comment like that? “FOOLISH CREATURE”
He is not even Tonga actually
It’s not about which part of Zambia Chris Katongo is cominig from, but about raising the Zambian flag high so as to put Zambia on the world map. Hence as a patriotic Zambia VOTE by texting 4 to +447786205075.
Ifibatonga too much tribalism is there anything like you can only vote for Chris if he is fro monze fools, even if without your uselss vote for him, we shal vote for him over and over.
hantobolo chikala uli bolo chachine thats y u cnt rule ths nation u ar 2 selfish u tongas.go go katongo we ar behind u ma man.hantobolo mapolo yako.
Chi Hantoobolo is a fool who everyone should ignore. He is a typical villager ( kamushi ) who is tarnishing the good image of well meaning and hardworking villagers of all provinces in Zambia.
SHAME on this monister.
lets vote!!!!!!chipolopolo fya bola!!!
Hantobolo ulatusampusha ayebo. Ulimuyanga alimwi unyina manu. Bantu ino baide kututukila kambo kabantu balimbuli nduwe sure. We Tongas are supposed to be just like any other Zambian but some chaps are painting a very bad picture about us such that a stigma is developing about being Tonga. You some times are mindful that people will know and feel out of place.
I AM A TONGA MYSELF FROM MONZE AND AM VOTING FOR A FELLOW ZAMBIAN LIFTING OUR FLAG ON THE INTERNATIONAL PLATFORM. Let us all strive to excel in whatever we do and contribute to the positive reputation and well being of our only nation Zambia.
The least we can do is to ignore Hantobolo after all he/she might not even be a Tonga, he could be even Bemba. Chris we will support you…
Chibesa, I totally agree with you this so called Hantobolo might after all not be a Tonga. These are people who want to tarnish other people’s names. I am not a Tonga but I have leaved with Tongs for most time of my life, there are one of the best people you can find around. A few individuals shouldn’t tarnish the entire tribe because of whatever hidden a gender. Let Chris be the second after Kalu’s 1988 scoping it.
just sent my vote for katongo…lets make him win guys…..go go go chipolopolo…..guys lets vote and vote and vote……………………………….until the end
txt 4….!!!!!!!!
Katongo means briliant and smart in lozi i hope is from our land.am casting my vote for him
gentlemen lets vote for our man forget about this tribalism
You can vote as many times online, I’ve voted 5 times within the last hour and it went through. Zambia has your back Chris Katongo. We are in this together
tongas are human beings like any other………..i have personaly lived with Tongas,Lozi’s and many other tribes they are as good as any other zambian………..iam bemba but most of my best friends are lozis and tongas…..and i have no problem atall……….
But you people, why should Bembas recieve this award twice? It’s time for players from other regions also to recieve this life time trophy. Abash!! It is time for Mweene to recieve this award for he saved us sure goals during the Africon final this year.
I have a three SIM card Chinese cell phone, voted on all three lines!!!
but mweene is not on that shortlist. if he was on it we could have voted for him. katongo was not nominated by a Zambian but by coaches from all over africa
Then it is better we Zambians not to vote. Then better Drogba get it than this Bemba man, Katongo. He will just make aba Bemba proud for nothing.
this Guy has made us proud , katongo can you marry me ???????????????
WHY SHOULD TRIBE BE THE FIRST THING TO RING IN SOME PEOPLE’S MINDS, BE ASHAMED WE WILL NOT SUPPORT YOUR TRIBLISM “GO ZAMBIA GO GIVE KATONGO A MASSIVE VOTE”.TRIBLISTS MWANYELA KWATENI THIS IS FOOTBALL,SURELY EVEN FOOTBALL
my instinct tells me Katongo will be selected
these bemba kolwestans who are blogging with tonga names are starting to annoy me. useless kolwestans
katongo must take this post is a good fighter
What’s wrong with Hantoobolo kanshi, nacikukalipa sana. just swalow your pride & vote for our man. If you are hurting go hung yourself while we keep on voting for our country man….
DROGBA for life……
My fellow Zambians lets spare our precious time and energy by reserving comments on Hantoobolo’s statement. He is a lost son. At least lets put our hands together and increase the chances of our national flag to be raised higher than ever before by voting for our beloved Katongo. I have already voted and its not expensive. I wish more than one sms was allowed using one phone.
Zambistro wins again. Guys dis iz our time 2 rise en shine.world cup here we come.1 katongo zambia en man u 4 life.
@Goodanalyst…..if you vote online you can vote as many times as you can