(CNN) -- Yaya Toure has retained his title as African Player of the Year after fighting off the challenge of Didier Drogba.
The 29-year-old, who helped guide Manchester City to the English Premier League title last season, enjoyed a stunning year with the club.
The Ivorian, who overcame fellow countryman Drogba and Cameroon's Alex Song, was obviously touched after being confirmed as the winner.
"I have a lot of emotion," he said after getting onto the stage in Accra, Ghana. "I think this night is so special for me."
Drogba and Katongo lead nominations for African Player of Year
The 2011-12 Egyptian revolution thrust an unlikely group of young people into the country's political conscience: organized groups of soccer fans called "ultras."
Egypt's soccer revolutionaries
Zambia captain Christopher Katongo holds the Africa Cup of Nations trophy aloft after his team's dramatic penalty shootout victory over Ivory Coast in Libreville, Gabon.
Zambia's Cup of Nations victory
How Zambia overcame the odds
Toure scored six goals last season as City pipped rivals Manchester United to the title, while he also helped his country reach the final of the Africa Cup of Nations.
The 29-year-old has now equaled the achievements of Senegal's El-Hadji Diouf by winning the award twice in a row.
But he will face a challenge to make it three on the bounce as Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o did between 2003-2005, before the Cameroon striker collected the award for a fourth time in 2010.
Former Chelsea star Drogba had been highly-fancied to win the award after his stellar year at Stamford Bridge.
The 34-year-old, now playing in China with Shanghai Shenhua, was an integral part of the team's European Champions League triumph as well as its FA Cup success.
His equalizer in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich and his winning penalty kick led the club to its first every triumph in the competition.
But it was Toure, who helped City win its first league title in 44 years, who won the vote, with Song of Barcelona coming third.
"Being in competition against Yaya and Alex was very difficult for me," Drogba told reporters. "I don't mind if Yaya wins. I'm very proud."
Zambia win Africa Cup of Nations
Meanwhile, Zambia was named as the National Team of the Year following its incredible victory at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Manager Herve Renard took the Coach of the Year accolade after leading Zambia to the title following his side's triumph over the Ivory Coast on penalties.
Egypt and Al Ahly midfielder Mohamed Aboutreika was named as African Player of the Year Based in Africa.
The 34-year-old collected the prize for the second time having also won it back in 2008.
Loading weather data ...
© 2013 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Groups of well organized soccer fans, numbering several thousand, came to prominence during the Battle of the Camels in Tahrir Square. Graffiti eulogizing the ultras covered most of the nearby walls.
Emboldened by their success, groups of ultras would attend and lead many of the post-Mubarak protests in Cairo against the military regime.
The most prominent group was the Ahlawy, the ultras of Al Ahly, Egypt's biggest and most successful club.
The Ahlawy was formed in 2007 as a way of showing better organized support for the team. But it soon became much more.
Such were their numbers that security was tight. Members would be arrested and revolutionary, anti-regime chants could be heard from the stands.
Post Mubarak in 2011, soccer returned to Egypt after a brief suspension of the league. In the security vacuum violence grew. In February this year, 74 fans of Al Ahly, many of them Ahlawy members, died in Port Said after they were attacked by rival fans in the stands.
The ultra groups claim that the deaths weren't the result of thuggery, as claimed by the authorities, but planned by the military as pay-back for their role in the revolution. The trial of over 70 people allegedly involved is ongoing.
Marches were held across Egypt to honor the dead. Here a member of the Ahlawy leads marchers in song in the northern city of Alexandria. The soccer league was canceled. In their aim to achieve justice for the dead, the Ahlawy has launched a successful direct action campaign against the restart of the soccer league until the trial of those accused of the Port Said tragedy is completed.
The lack of competitive soccer is just one of the many problems that has faced Egyptian national team coach Bob Bradley. The former coach of the U.S. men's team has been charged with taking Egypt to Brazil for the 2014 World Cup.
His first competitive match was a World Cup qualifier earlier this year. Fears of violence were so high, the match was played without fans in a remote military stadium outside Alexandria.
Despite the revolution and despite the team having played little or no football, Egypt won their first two World Cup qualifying matches.
Even more incredible has been the performance of Al Ahly in the African Champions League. Despite having no league, and having to play all their home games behind closed doors, the team has reached the two -leg final and is hoping for a seventh title overall.
The Zambia team gather together in prayer moments after Stoppila Sunzu's penalty earned the Copper Bullets' first African title.
French coach Herve Renard is enjoying his second spell as Zambia coach, with the 43-year-old having also been with the team between 2008 and 2010.
Zambia fans at the Stade d'Angondje celebrated wildly after their team's historic success.
But Ivory Coast fans in the city of Abidjan were inconsolable. The 1992 champions have failed to deliver success despite having star players such as Didier Drogba and brothers Kolo and Yaya Toure.
Drogba could have put the Ivory Coast ahead midway through the second half, but fired his penalty high over the crossbar. The Chelsea striker also missed a spot-kick in the Elephants' 2006 shootout defeat to Egypt.
Zambia goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene was the hero on Sunday, saving Kolo Toure's spot-kick before Gervinho also missed the target for the Ivorians.
|