Ivory Coast’s Yaya Toure wins 2013 BBC African Footballer of the Year

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0nmtPfdZhDjSbJag-myIfUvbwEPxMjjVuoePoHfq4gfzy9Cug6SecLf_lJCpnaX39zY5DwdJg3dZeK8PzqA5IeoHFL7UGd62mOHPnPNi0i3iQ-VT5MmIYrIxZXMQfHC3oNWfjd147QF0K/s1600/Ivory+Coast%E2%80%99s+Yaya+Toure+wins+2013+BBC+African+Footballer+of+the+Year.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0nmtPfdZhDjSbJag-myIfUvbwEPxMjjVuoePoHfq4gfzy9Cug6SecLf_lJCpnaX39zY5DwdJg3dZeK8PzqA5IeoHFL7UGd62mOHPnPNi0i3iQ-VT5MmIYrIxZXMQfHC3oNWfjd147QF0K/s1600/Ivory+Coast%E2%80%99s+Yaya+Toure+wins+2013+BBC+African+Footballer+of+the+Year.jpg" /></a></div>  <b style="text-align: justify;">LONDON: Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure was named the BBC’s African Footballer of the Year for 2013 on Monday.</b><br /> <div style="text-align: justify;"> It was the fifth straight year the Manchester City star had made the shortlist but the first time he’d taken the award.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> “Thank you to all the fans around the world who continue to support me and who love me a lot,” said Toure in a BBC statement. “I’m very proud, I’m very happy, this award is amazing.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> “It’s the fifth time in a row (being nominated) and this time is very special.”</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Toure, who has scored 13 goals for club and country this year, was the choice of the BBC’s global audience.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> He held off competition from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon and Borussia Dortmund), Victor Moses (Nigeria and Liverpool, on loan from Chelsea), John Obi Mikel (Nigeria and Chelsea), and Jonathan Pitroipa (Burkina Faso and Rennes).</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Toure was presented with the award at Manchester City’s Carrington training ground on Monday.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> “We are pleased for Yaya Toure that he has finally won the BBC African Footballer of the Year on his fifth nomination for the award,” said BBC Africa’s current affairs editor Vera Kwakofi.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> “This shows the high esteem in which he is held by lovers of African football and the respect the fans have for his exploits for club and country.”</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Toure now has the chance to complete an awards double having been selected among a 25-man shortlist for the African Football Confederation (CAF) African Footballer of the Year for 2013.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> In contrast to the BBC award, Toure has won the CAF equivalent in each of the last two years and winning it for a third consecutive year would see him match the achievement of Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o, winner in 2003, 2004 and 2005.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The winner of the latest edition is due to be announced at a ceremony in Lagos, Nigeria, on January 9.</div> </div>

AFP africa bbc footbaal ivor coast SPORTS world Ivory Coast’s Yaya Toure wins 2013 BBC African Footballer of the Year

 LONDON: Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure was named the BBC’s African Footballer of the Year for 2013 on Monday. It was the fifth straight year the Manchester City star had made the shortlist but the first time he’d taken the award. “Thank you to a…

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