I suppose you could ask the same question of 99% of awards handed out, today, anotheoldgit. The Turner prize was awarded yesterday and that one comes with a £25,000 cheque!! Nice work if you can get it.
True, Ric.ror, but also harmless. Not sticking up for the award, but as far as i can ascertain, there is no money attached to it and the presentation is usually made at the player's club with very little fuss and therefore very little expense to we licence payers.
One difference all those awards apart from the bottom one are awarded by their own individual countries, perhaps what I should have asked is "why is the African player of the year award, awarded by our national broadcasting company, and not by Africa's football authority"?
/perhaps what I should have asked is "why is the African player of the year award, awarded by our national broadcasting company, and not by Africa's football authority"? /
It isn't aog
the BBC scheme is just one of a number of African footballer awards
/The African Footballer of the Year award, presented to the best African football (soccer) player each year, has been conferred by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) since 1992. An earlier African Footballer of the Year Golden Ball award was given out between 1970 and 1994 by France Football magazine./
This just happens to be a version operated by the BBC
Presumably because they already have extensive involvement in reporting African sport through their World Service broadcasting remit
/// They have a European player of the year, so why not an African one? Not sure why you have a problem with it. ///
Oh I see although he plays for Manchester City, at the end of each match he goes home to Africa, because if he lived in Europe he would qualify for European player of the year award?
/// The BBC spends £millions on the World Service broadcasting to Africa. So a prize for a footballer from that continent is entirely appropriate. ///
/Oh I see although he plays for Manchester City, at the end of each match he goes home to Africa/
No
He only goes home to Africa when he is playing for his national side and they have a home fixture
It can't be that hard to understand that different organisations set up Awards for their own purposes and with differing entry criteria
Shock news for aog - there is no central Awards Scheme Allowing and Criteria Coordinating Department
The African football authorities run Player of the Year Awards
The BBC have decided to do their own for their own reasons - if nobody paid it any heed i expect they'd stop. As it is the BBC I expect it carries a lot of prestige and respect
Have we missed French Footballer of the Year , an award by France-Football magazine ?
Given the others listed, do you now accept that there is a need for the award, AOG ? If not a need, in strict terms, do you object to it ? Why ?
Or is it now a case of you accepting it but wondering why the BBC promotes or sponsors it? Have you forgotten all those licence dodgers in Africa, you spoke of? There are millions of soccer fans in Africa.