There is no Nigerian footballer on the list of nominees for the prestigious British Broadcasting Corporation African Footballer of Year 2012.
The list of five, released on Thursday by the BBC World Service, has two Ivorians, a Senegalese, a Moroccan and a Zambian.
The contenders for the award this year are Demba Ba of Senegal and Newcastle United, UK; Younes Belhanda of Morocco and Montpellier, France; Didier Drogba of Ivory Coast and Shanghai Shenhua, China; Christopher Katongo of Zambia and Henan Construction FC, China; and Yaya Toure of Ivory Coast and Manchester City, UK.
The only Nigerian who had won the award was Austin Jay Jay Okocha.
Okocha won the award in 2003 during his stay with Bolton FC of the United Kingdom.
According to a statement by the BBC on Thursday, fans can vote online at bbc.com/africanfootball and by SMS* to +44 7786 20 50 75, by texting 1 for Demba Ba; 2 for Younes Belhanda; 3 for Didier Drogba; 4 for Christopher Katongo; and 5 for Yaya Touré.
David Stead, Global News Sports Editor for Language Services, said: “It’s a very refreshing list which reflects the fast-moving world of African football. Only Yaya Toure survives from last year’s vote but he deserves it after an outstanding season at title-winning Manchester City. It’s great to see a North African player back in contention after a number of years, and Younes Belhanda has been instrumental in helping Montpellier to the Ligue 1 title. Senegalese fans will be pleased to see Demba Ba nominated – he has had to fight for his place at Newcastle, but has scored an impressive eight league goals so far this season.
“This list clearly highlights the growing importance of China to African players, with both Drogba and Katongo now stars in the Super League. Drogba will get strong support among Chelsea fans for his winning penalty in the Champions League final while Katongo achieved the huge feat of leading Zambia to Cup of Nations victory.”
The voting will close at 18.30 GMT during the Focus on Africa radio programme on Thursday 13 December 2012.
BBC African Footballer of the Year 2012 will be announced on Monday 17 December.
Players’ profiles and highlights from their 2012 performance will feature across the BBC’s multilingual output for Africa.
Past winners of the BBC African Footballer of the Year
2011 – Andre ‘Dede’ Ayew
2010 – Asamoah Gyan (Sunderland & Ghana)
2009 – Didier Drogba (Chelsea & Ivory Coast)
2008 – Mohamed Aboutrika (Al Ahly & Egypt)
2007 – Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal & Togo)
2006 – Michael Essien (Chelsea & Ghana)
2005 – Mohamed Barakat (Al Ahly & Egypt)
2004 – Jay Jay Okocha (Bolton & Nigeria)
2003 – Jay Jay Okocha (Bolton & Nigeria)
2002 – El Hadji Diouf (Liverpool & Senegal)
2001 – Sammy Kuffour (Bayern Munich & Ghana)
2000 – Patrick Mboma (Parma & Cameroon)