Africa will on Thursday honour its illustrious sons and daughters who have distinguished themselves across the world, playing or administering football in the last one year at the 2015 Glo CAF Awards.
The annual award, sponsored by next generation telecommunication network, Globacom, will be a gathering of top football celebrities and government officials across Africa at the International Conference Centre in the city of Abuja, Nigeria.
Top sports administrators and government functionaries from different parts of the world are in Abuja for the ceremony, which will be presided over by the acting President of FIFA and President of the Confederation of African Football, Issa Hayatou.
Over 100 pressmen from across the globe are covering the 2015 GLO-CAF Awards, an annual soccer event which celebrates the best of football players of African extraction.
About two weeks ago, CAF pruned down the final list of African Player of the Year to three players .
In the African Player of the Year Award category, the top three players are
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Gabon and Borrussia Dortmund of Germany;
four-time African Player of the Year, Yaya Toure of Cote d’Ivoire and Manchester City; and
Andrew Ayew of Ghana and Swansea City FC.
Mbwana Aly Samatta of Tanzania and TP Mazembe, Baghdad Bounedjah of Algeria and Etoile du Sahel and Robert Kidiaba of Democratic Republic of Congo and TP Mazembe are the top three nominees in the Africa-based ‘Player of the Year’ Award.
The list was prepared through a vigorous selection process by the Technical, Football and Media Committees of CAF, taking into account the performance of the players for their national teams as well as clubs from January to November of each year.
The top acts expected to entertain guests and VIPs at the event include singing sensation, Salif Keita, an afro-pop singer cum songwriter from Mali, who is rated highly because of his reputation as the “Golden Voice of Africa”; Ladysmith Black Mambazo, a South African male choral group that sings in the vocal styles of isicathamiya and mbube. Awilo Longomba, a Congolese musician who was a drummer in Viva la Musica, Stukas, Nouvelle Generation, Charles Nii Armah Mensah Jnr popularly known by his stage name Shatta Wale, a Ghanaian born producer and reggae-dancehall musician.
Ahmed Soultan, a Moroccan singer artist, considered as one of the leaders of the “Nayda” (new urban Moroccan scene) and Sammie Leigh Bush Jr. known professionally by the mononym Sammie, an American R&B singer best known for his hit, “I Like It”.
Some of the biggest stars in Nigeria have been lined up to also light up the evening.
They include the wave-making hip-hop super star, Dapo Oyebanji, a multi-talented and award Nigerian songwriter and performer, Mavin records’ prince and princess, Korede Bello and Hadiza Blell, popularly known as Di’ja, alternative soul singer, Bez Idakula, one of Nigeria’s most prominent female singers, Omawumi, Ego ‘sweet voice’ Ogbaro and master guitarist and legendary King of Juju Music, Sunny Ade.
All of these top musicians cum entertainers are also Globacom Ambassadors.
All roads lead to the International Conference Centre, Abuja where the new King of African football will be crowned tonight, the organisers said in a statement.
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