Ghana defender Paintsil shocked over Asamoah Gyan snub from CAF Footballer of the Year final three

Published on: 27 December 2014
Ghana defender Paintsil shocked over Asamoah Gyan snub from CAF Footballer of the Year final three
Asamoah Gyan has been excluded from the CAF final list

South Africa-based Ghanaian defender John Paintsil is in shock over CAF's decision to exclude Asamoah Gyan from the final three-man shortlist for the 2014 African Footballer of the Year award.

Africa's football governing body revealed its three man shortlist this week after the Ghana captain Gyan was named in the five-man shortlist for the award to be held next month.

The award is voted for by the head coaches of the 56 national associations within the African governing body.

The Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure faces competition from Borussia Dortmund and Gabon forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, as well as Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, who plays for Lille.

The exclusion of Gyan from the list despite his impressive showing for Ghana and UAE giants Al Ain has come as a huge surprise for Paintsil who thinks the striker should have been named.

“For me personally I am shocked that Asamoah couldn’t make it to the final three, because he did well, he was scoring for his club and for his nation," Paintsil said.

“So I don’t know why he was not included in the final three. That is the decision of CAF and we must respect it but I am shocked that he was not part."

Manchester City’s Y Toure will be favourite to collect a record fourth successive African Footballer of the Year crown after he was named in the list of final three nominees by CAF.

Toure has collected the award for the last three years, matching the feat achieved by Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o and Ghana’s Abedi Pele.

Victory again would mean he joins Eto’o on four titles overall but would be the first player to reach that milestone in consecutive seasons.

The winner will be announced in Lagos on January 8.

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