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The shortlist for the 2010 Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú African Footballer of the Year award has been revealed on Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú World Service's flagship African sports programme, Fast Track.

The five contenders were selected by football experts around Africa. They are:

1. Asamoah Gyan – Ghana and Sunderland
2. Andre "Dede" Ayew – Ghana and Marseille
3. Samuel Eto'o – Cameroon and Inter Milan
4. Yaya Toure – Ivory Coast and Manchester City
5. Didier Drogba – Ivory Coast and Chelsea

Fans can vote online at bbc.com/africanfootball and by SMS to +447786 200 070, by texting 1 for Asamoah Gyan, 2 for Andre "Dede" Ayew; 3 for Samuel Eto'o; 4 for Yaya Toure; and 5 for Didier Drogba.

Host of Fast Track, Farayi Mungazi, comments: "This has been an amazing year for African football and it is great to see some of the stars of the World Cup in South Africa making the shortlist. I can't wait to see who the fans choose as the best of the best."

Starting at 1700 GMT today, Monday 15 November, the voting will run until Friday 10 December 2010.

Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú African Footballer of the Year 2010 will be announced in Fast Track, live on Friday 17 December 2010.

Fast Track is part of Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú World Service's English-language programming for audiences across Africa, offering comprehensive coverage of African sport.

With his eye on sport right across the globe, the host, Farayi Mungazi, brings to the microphone a deep understanding of global sport, discussing the issues and asking the questions that every sports fan wants to hear.

Fast Track is broadcast on Mondays and Fridays (1600 GMT) and on Sundays (1820 GMT).

Sports coverage on Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú World Service includes the flagship global weekly sports show, Sportsworld and World Football.

The Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú's multimedia services for Africa – Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Afrique (French for Africa), Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Hausa, Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Para Africa (Portuguese for Africa), Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Somali and Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Swahili – bring audiences commentary on English Premier League weekend matches.

Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú World Service International Publicity