The Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Friday unveiled the shortlists for the 2012 Player of the Year and 2012 Player of the Year (Based in Africa).

The shortlists were unveiled at a ceremony in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, attended by CAF Executive Committee member Kwesi Nyantakyi and officials from Globacom, sponsors of the annual event that seeks to reward distinguished footballers for their exploits during the year under review.

There were five nominees for the Player of the Year and three for the Player of the Year (Based in Africa), which were reached after votes from the Head Coaches or Technical Directors of the National Associations affiliated to CAF.

The process began with a selection of pool of players by the Football, Media and Technical Committees of CAF taking into consideration the performance of the players this year.

The shortlists for the 2012 CAF Player of the Year are (in alphabetical order):

1. Alexander song (Cameroon and Barcelona),

2. Andre Ayew (Ghana and Olympique Marseille)

3. Demba Ba (Senegal and Newcastle United)

4. Didier Drogba (Cote d'Ivoire and Shanghai Shenhua)

5. Yaya Toure (Cote d'Ivoire and Manchester City)

For the 2012 CAF Player of the Year (Based in Africa), the shortlists are (in alphabetical order);

1. Mohamed Aboutreika (Egypt and Al-Ahly)

2. Rainford Kalaba (Zambia and TP Mazembe)

3. Stoppila Sunzu (Zambia and TP Mazembe)

The winners will be named at the Awards Gala to be held on December 20 at the Banquet Hall, State House, Accra in Ghana.