Didier Drogba , the man who secured Chelsea 's first ever European Champions League triumph , leads the nominations for Africa 's Player of the Year award . The striker 's winning penalty in a dramatic shootout against German giants Bayern Munich was his last strike of the ball for the English club , with whom he spent eight seasons . Drogba , who is a huge star back in the Ivory Coast and is credited with a pivotal role in ending the country 's civil war , now plays for Shanghai Shenhua in China . Also on the list is Christopher Katongo , who led Zambia to a maiden Africa Cup of Nations ( CAN ) victory earlier in 2012 , as they beat Drogba 's Ivory Coast in the final . The minnows stunned the continent as they triumphed at the finals , hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea , and Katongo was named player of the tournament . Like Drogba , the 30-year-old plays in China , for Henan Construction , and has scored 19 goals in 74 appearances for Zambia , as he helped his country ensure they will defend their trophy in 2013 in South Africa . There are a quartet of English based players on the list , with Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure , an Ivory Coast teammate of Drogba , prominent among them . Toure , alongside brother Kolo , helped City claim their first English league title in 44 years in a thrilling end to the 2011/12 campaign and was named in the Premier League team of the season . Senegalese striker Demba Ba has become a firm fans ' favorite at Newcastle United , scoring 23 goals in his 44 Premier League appearances so far . Like Drogba , Nigeria 's Jon Obi Mikel was part of Chelsea 's squad which won the Champions League and also England 's premier domestic cup competition , the FA Cup . Arsenal 's Gervinho was also on the losing side in the CAN final , after his goal helped Ivory Coast beat Mali in the last four . New Barcelona signing Alex Song has also made the cut . After an impressive season with Arsenal the defensive midfielder earned a high-profile move to the Spanish giants prior to the start of the 2012/13 season . There is a place on the list for Marseille 's Ghanaian winger Andre Ayew , who helped take his country to the semifinals of the Africa Cup of Nations in 2012 . Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is another French-based player to earn a nomination , after finishing as joint top scorer at the CAN with three goals . The final name is Morocco 's Younes Belhanda , who scored 13 times as his club side Montpellier won the French league title . The 22-year-old was named in the French league 's team of the season and was crowned young player of the year . African soccer 's governing body , the Confederation of African Football ( CAF ) , has also announced five candidates for their Africa-based Player of the Year Award . There are two players who represent DR Congo club TP Mazembe -- Rainford Kalaba and Stoppila Sunzu -- Egyptian midfielder Mohamed Aboutreika , who plays in his native country for Al-Ahly , and Yannick N'Djeng and Yousse Msakni who both play for Tunisian club Esperance Sportive de Tunis .
Daniel Evans leads the field nominated for African Player of the Year award . Ivory Coast striker scored penalty that won European Champions League for Chelsea . Christopher Lee led Zambia to their first ever Africa Cup of Nations triumph . English - based trio Yaya Stevens , Charles Ba , Jon Obi were all nominated .