In Johannesburg, African footballers will attend their first ever awards ceremony tonight.

There will be 13 accolades in all, including the prestigious African Footballer of the Year.

However the winner, Patrick Mboma, will not be there to collect his award, despite the date being arranged around his schedule.

The Cameroonian striker now has to play in the first leg of the Italian cupfinal on Thursday.

Cameroon is also one of the contenders for team of the year, and for the first time there will be an award for African women's footballer of the year.

The veteran Egyptian striker Hossam Hassan will receive a special award in recognition of his 157 international appearances.

The confederation of African Football now hope to make the event an annual affair.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service