Open Letter To CAF – Over The African Best Footballer Award [A Must Read]

Dear CAF,

First off, I would like to thank you for
organizing your award in Nigeria…not like
you’ve hosted in other countries save for
those Glo is present in. It was nice that Africa
was watching Nigeria once again in football.
That being said, with no time left for petty
things, I would like to get down to the purpose
of this letter, which is to address the
embarrassing irregularities that has come to
be associated with this organization and it’s
award show.
The minute CAF released their list of top 3
contenders for the APOTY award, omitting a
world class player like Enyeama who had done
more than enough to put Africa on the World
Map with his exploits in France, and replacing
him with Drogba who was less than stellar in
the year under review, I smelt a rat, and not
just any rat, a big, dead, bush rat.
The wise ones amongst us knew already that
you people had begun with your politics
because by any standards set, Enyeama was
outstanding in 2013, even more than any of
those guys that made the top 3 and his
exclusion can NEVER be justified. CAF
themselves later proved that Drogba truly was
far from a contender when they suspiciously
omitted someone they considered worthy of
Africa’s top 3 from their Africa’s best XI, and
who made it? Enyeama and Emenike,
Aubameyang and Pitroipa, same guys you
kicked off for grandpa Drogba.
Moving on, let us once again examine this
nursery school award show from the get-go. It
is apparent that the chances of an Anglophone
country, Nigeria especially, winning CAF
APOTY is next to nothing since they are out-
numbered by the Francophone countries. In
fact, in the words of a certain online poster, “A
Nigerian will have to end the year with at least
50 goals and 35 assists to win this award”. I
couldn’t agree more, especially as the latest
criteria for winning this award is individual
brilliance.
Let me refresh the minds of Nigerians to the
1998 CAF awards, where JJ Okocha was a top
contender along with Mohammed Hadji of
Morocco. Having had nothing short of a
spectacular year with PSG, and of course, his
France ’98 World Cup heroics, Okocha was in
fact a clear favorite to win this award. Much to
the shock of Nigerians, Africans and indeed
the world at large, Okocha lost this award to
Hadji, who was awarded the title based on the
fact that Egypt won the Burkina Faso ’98
AFCON.
Fast forward to 2003, another great year for
Okocha, who once again, was in the running to
win the much coveted APOTY title to add to his
BBC APOTY award, won in that year. Again, all
systems read ‘Okocha’, but on the day of the
awards, Okocha was not just robbed of the
award, but mugged and the award was given
to none other than Eto’o. When asked why
Okocha who had been spectacular in a
Tunisian league didn’t win. ,the CAF
executives after acknowledging the
awesomeness that was Okocha in that year,
gave the reason that “Okocha didn’t win any
trophies in the year under review”…case
closed.
Fast forward again to 2013, ten years later
where you have the first Nigerian to have
made top 3 in as many years, Mikel Obi, as a
top contender along-side Cote d’Ivoire’s Yaya
Toure. In the year under review- 2013, only a
blind and deaf person would say Mikel Obi did
not have the trophies to merit the award.
Having bagged an AFCON gold medal, ending
Yaya’s CIV’s hopes in the same tournament
and an Europa League trophy with his club,
Chelsea, Mikel, who was instrumental
especially to Nigeria’s first AFCON title in 19
years, was in no doubt, the preferred
candidate to win going by the criteria set in
previous CAF awards, since Yaya didn’t even
have an ‘Indomitables’ sticker to his name in
2013, despite his awesome goals.
Once again though, Nigeria was denied the
award, this time, individual brilliance was
considered ahead of trophies won. CAF has
undoubtedly confused us all.
Which is it CAF? Individual brilliance or
trophies won? Or do you just change the
criterias depending on the year to favor your
Francophone players?
Some people argued on your behalf, that it is
the coaches and captains of all 53 nations
football teams that vote, hence the credibility,
I really can’t say since nobody has uploaded a
Youtube video showing these people voting. In
fact, the voting in CAF is done in a secretive
manner, almost like the selection of the Pope
of the Catholic church, so we really don’t know
what happens behind closed doors.
If we are to believe that truly it’s the votes of
coaches and captains that count, can you guys
explain how Drogba lost the 2008 title to
Kanoute, despite his awesome year? Because
if we remember clearly, Drogba had refused
to show up for the award in Togo and you, CAF
threatened to make sure he didn’t win it as
punishment- and truly, he didn’t. Only for you
to compensate him the next year. Let me
leave that one as is.
This letter is much longer than I intended for it
to be, but as you realise, your countless fuq
ups over the years warranted this. I will end
with one question:
“What is the criteria for choosing the
CAF African Player Of The Year?”
Sincerely,
Safari.