Indomitable Lion`s striker, Samuel Eto Fils heads the list of nominees for the Confederation of African Football`s 2003 player of the year award. Et and Geremy Njitap are the two Cameroonians on the list. Eto who plays for Real Mallorca`s is tipped to succeed Senegal`s El Hadji Diouf as holder of the crown. He has established himself as Mallorca`s top striker and also had a brilliant Confederations Cup in France last summer, helping Cameroon to reach the final. He is also the winner of the ‘Coupe du Roi’ in Spain where he is base. Eto was one of the nominees of last year but he failed to make it. Following his recent performances, it is certain that he will wear the Crown this year. Last year`s winner, Diouf and his two runners-up, Ahmed Mido Hossam
of Egypt and Senegal`s Pape Bouba Diop, have not featured in the shortlist. The identity of the winner will be revealed at the CAF annual awards ceremony early next year.
Last week, Samuel Eto’o Fils was also nominated for the `Golden Ball` award for European Footballer of the Year alongside Tunisian defender, Hatem Trabelsi. Nine French internationals, including Arsenal`s Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry and Real Madrid star Zinedine Zidane were also short listed. France and Italy have the largest nomber of players on the list, followed by Brazil with five nominees and England with four. Tarek El Taeb of Libya is the only Africa based player in the list. Since the institution CAF footballer of the year award, Patrick Mboma is the only Cameroonian to have won the title. That was in the year 2000.
