The Confederation of African Football announced the five players on the shortlist for the 2004 African Footballer of the Year award on Sunday.
Nigerian captain Austin "Jay Jay" Okocha of the English Premiership side Bolton Wanderers is considered the favorite to win the honor, which is voted on by the Confederation's technical and media committees.
Also nominated are defending champion Samuel Eto'o of Cameroon, who plays for Barcelona of Spain, Chelsea of England's Ivorian striker Didier Drogba, Emmanuel Adebayor of Togo who plays for Monaco and South African striker Bennedict McCarthy of FC Porto of Portugal.
CAF director of communications Sulaiman Habuba announced that the national team coaches of the continent's 53 member-nations will vote for the final three nominees and winner. The Footballer of the Year will be announced at awards ceremonies in Durban, South Africa on February 15.