{"id":19961,"date":"2011-12-23T02:33:48","date_gmt":"2011-12-23T02:33:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/12\/toure-shrugs-off-ayew-keita-challenge-crowned-king-of-africa-football\/"},"modified":"2011-12-23T02:33:48","modified_gmt":"2011-12-23T02:33:48","slug":"toure-shrugs-off-ayew-keita-challenge-crowned-king-of-africa-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/12\/23\/toure-shrugs-off-ayew-keita-challenge-crowned-king-of-africa-football\/","title":{"rendered":"Toure shrugs off Ayew, Keita challenge; crowned King of Africa football"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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Yaya Toure in his full regalia as he picks the trophy for the 2011 African Footballer of the Year award<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n

\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

Ivorian and Manchester City Star Yaya Toure has been crowned the 2011 African Footballer of the Year in a memorable ceremony in Accra.<\/p>\n

Toure fended off challenge from Mali\u2019s Seydou Keita and Ghana\u2019s Andre Dede Ayew who won the second and third positions respectively.<\/p>\n

The 28 year old star, renowned for his skill, power and technique led Manchester City to their first ever FA Cup victory in 35 years, scoring the solitary goal in the man-of-the-match performance against Manchester United in the semi-final.<\/p>\n

He again scored the match winner against Stoke in the finals of the same competition.<\/p>\n

Toure has been exemplary in the Ivorian National team, pulling the strings in midfield and playing a key role in qualifying the Ivorians to the 2012 Nations Cup to be held in Guinea and Gabon.<\/p>\n

And when the nominees for the Africa Footballer of the year was announced, partisan patrons present at the Banquet Hall State House, Accra were firmly rooting for Ghana\u2019s Dede Ayew, but it was not all too surprising when Yaya Toure was named as the 2011 King of Africa football, sparking tons of applause.<\/p>\n

The awards night was short but left an indelible memory on the minds of the patrons present.<\/p>\n

The speeches were crisp and the performances from the musicians, choreographers selected across the continent were awesome.<\/p>\n

Kwabena Kwabena and Efya led Ghana\u2019s contingent with a great rendition of some of their hits, with Ivorian Zeynab, South Africa\u2019s Loyiso Bala and Gloria Bosman in another superb performance.<\/p>\n

The Big Band from South Africa was flawless in their trade. <\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n
\n
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Seydou Keita (1st runner-up), Yaha Toure (winner) and Andre Ayew (2nd runner-up)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n

\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

It was indeed an assembly of great African Stars as Nigeria\u2019s JJ Okocha, Moustapha Hadji were showered with the Legends Awards.
Ghana\u2019s Abedi Pele and Tony Yeboah, Samuel Osei Kufuor, CK Akunnor, Yaw Preko were also present at occasion.<\/p>\n

The night was not only for footballers; Ghana\u2019s ex-president Jerry John Rawlings was present with his family; as well as some top Nigerian actors including Nouah Ramsey.<\/p>\n

The night also saw Perpetua Nkwocha pick the Women\u2019s Footballer of the year beating South Africa\u2019s Nompumelelo Nyandani and Equatorial Guinea\u2019s Miriam Paixao Silva.<\/p>\n

Other award winners include;<\/p>\n

Fair Play award \u2013 Libyan National team<\/strong><\/p>\n

Coach of the Year \u2013 Harouna Doula<\/strong><\/p>\n

National team of the Year \u2013 Botswana<\/strong><\/p>\n

Womens National Team of the Year \u2013 Cameroon<\/strong><\/p>\n

Club of the Year \u2013 Esperence de Tunis (Tunisia)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Referee of the Year \u2013 Noumandiuez Doue (Cote d\u2019Ivoire)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Africa Based Player of the Year \u2013 Oussama Darragi (Tunisia)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most Promising Talent of the Year \u2013 Souleymane Coulibaly (Cote d\u2019Ivoire)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Legend Award \u2013 Austin Jay Jay Okocha (Nigeria)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Legend Award \u2013 Mustapha Hadji (Morocco)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Platinum Award \u2013 John Atta Mills (Ghana)<\/strong> <\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yaya Toure in his full regalia as he picks the trophy for the 2011 African Footballer of the Year award Ivorian and Manchester City Star Yaya Toure has been crowned the 2011 African Footballer of the Year in a memorable ceremony in Accra. Toure fended off challenge from Mali\u2019s Seydou Keita and Ghana\u2019s Andre Dede Ayew who won the second and third positions respectively<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nToure shrugs off Ayew, Keita challenge; crowned King of Africa football - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/12\/23\/toure-shrugs-off-ayew-keita-challenge-crowned-king-of-africa-football\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Toure shrugs off Ayew, Keita challenge; crowned King of Africa football - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Yaya Toure in his full regalia as he picks the trophy for the 2011 African Footballer of the Year award Ivorian and Manchester City Star Yaya Toure has been crowned the 2011 African Footballer of the Year in a memorable ceremony in Accra. 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