Toure, Ayew, Keita battle for CAF honour

Yaya Toure, Andre Ayew and Seydou Keita have been announced as the three finalists for the 2011 African Player of the Year award.

The winner will be announced at the Confederation of African Football (CAF) awards gala, which will be held on Thursday, December 22 in the Ghanaian capital, Accra.

Manchester City and Ivory Coast midfielder Toure is considered the favourite to take out the award, after helping the Sky Blues lift the FA Cup last season and lead the English Premier League nearing the halfway mark of the current campaign.

However, Ghana’s Ayew, who plies his trade in Ligue 1 with Marseille, and Barcelona and Mali midfielder Keita are both considered strong candidates for the award.

The shortlist for the 2011 African Player of the Year was decided by votes of head coaches or technical directors of the national associations affiliated to CAF.

The CAF Technical, Football and Media Committees decided on the choice of shortlists for the other categories taking into account the performance of the nominees from January to November 2011.

The award ceremony is to reward excellence in African football on and off the pitch.