After missing the final shortlisting of the 2014 Africa’s Footballer of the Year award, African topmost scorer on the world stage and Black Stars skipper, Asamoah Gyan, has slammed the award, saying, it has always been biased against players who do not ply their trade in Europe.
“I was a bit disappointed for missing out the final shortlist because I did a lot in 2014 to deserve a place in the final shortlisted players” he lamented .
Responding to questions from GTV Sports programme during an interview, Gyan, who was listed among five players for the 2014 award, said it was a fan who hinted that his name was missing from the final three who had been shortlisted for the award.
Gabonese midfielder, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who plays for German giants, Borussia Dortmund; Nigeria’s goalkeeper and skipper Vincent Enyeama, who plays for Lillie in France, and current holder of the award, Yaya Toure , an Ivorian who plays for Manchester City in England, have made the final top three for the 2014 African Player of the Year.The three men were picked by "head coaches or technical directors" of the various national associations, according to CAF.
The pair of Ahmed Musa and Ghana captain, Asamoah Gyan, missed the final list after making the final five.Enyeama is the first goalkeeper to make the final three in the African Footballer of the Year award in more than two decades
“I laughed about the shortlist that came out because I often think that it is not the best player in Africa who wins the award. It is rather the player who plays in Europe. That is how I judge it,” Gyan noted.
Explaining, he said, “ I did a lot last year for club and country . I was the top scorer in Africa during the World Cup qualifying series, and in the Asian League, I was the top scorer, as well as scoring three out of the five goals for Ghana during the Cup of Nations, so I deserved a place in the final three” .
He said not playing in Europe was a big handicap to being recognised as one of the finest footballers on the continent.“No African player playing in Africa or outside Europe has won this award since its inception,” he bemoaned.
