CAF's five-man shortlist for the 2009 African Footballer of the Year award did not include any Egyptian player. Ghanaian midfielder Michael Essien, Cameroonian striker Samuel Eto'o, Ivorian duo Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure and Malian Seydou Keita will compete for the award, the African governing body said. Manchester City's Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor, the 2008 winner, missed out on the shortlist. The winner will be decided by votes from head coaches of African national teams and will be announced on February 25, CAF added. Egyptian clubs' failure to mount a serious challenge for any African title apparently ruled local-based players out of contention. Ahli's inspirational playmaker Mohamed Abou-Treika finished second in the previous edition behind Adebayor after helping the Red Devils win the Champions League as well as playing a key role in Egypt's triumphant Nations Cup campaign. However, six-time African champions Ahli were eliminated from the Champions League preliminaries this year at the hands of Nigerian side Kano Pillars. Egypt also failed to reach next year's World Cup finals in South Africa after losing to Algeria in a controversial playoff in Sudan.
