The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has shortlisted Chelsea duo Didier Drogba and Michael Essien as well as Inter Milan hitman Samuel Eto'o for the 2009 African Footballer of the Year award (Glo-CAF). Barcelona pair Seydou Keita and Yaya Toure were both omitted from the three-man list. CAF's technical and media committees initially nominated players for the final list, before national team coaches picked only three of them. "The list has been carefully selected by the committees which have been mandated by CAF and we know the best have been chosen," CAF director of communications Suleiman Habuba said. Togo and Manchester City ace Emmanuel Adebayor scooped the prestigious accolade last year. African Footballer of the Year list: Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast and Chelsea) Michael Essien (Ghana and Chelsea) Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon and Inter Milan) Best African player on the continent list: Uche Agba (Nigeria and Heartland FC) Tresor Mabi Mputu (DR Congo and T.P. Mazembe) Abdelmalek Ziaya (Algeria and ES Setif)