Eto'o has won the Caf award twice

Alongside the Barcelona and Chelsea strikers are three other players plying their trade in Europe.

They are Togo's Emmanuel Adebayor of Monaco, Moroccan Marouane Chamakh who plays for Bordeaux, and Chelsea's Ghanian midfielder Michael Essien.

Caf spokesman Suleimanu Habuba said the list would be whittled down to three candidates on 19 November after a vote of the coaches of the continent's 53 national teams.

Eto'o is strongly fancied to win the award for a record-equalling third time after success in 2003 and 2004, despite Cameroon's failure to qualify for next year's World Cup finals in Germany.

The forward's 24 goals helped Barcelona to the Spanish League title this year.

Striker Drogba scored nine times for Ivory Coast while midfielder Essien made an equally vital contribution for Ghana as both West African sides reached the World Cup finals for the first time.

Adebayor scored 10 goals for Togo, making him the top scorer in the African World Cup qualifying campaign, to help his country reach their first finals.

Chamakh was a key figure for Morocco, who were denied a place among Africa's five finalists by Tunisia.

Habuba said the five players were chosen by the 37-members of the Caf's technical and media committees via individual ballots.

"The committee members used such criteria as performance in club and international competitions, consistency, sports achievement, popularity in African football as well as charisma and influence to reach their decisions," he told a news conference.

New categories of Supporters' Club of the Year and Legend of the Year had been introduced to this year's awards alongside Best Young Player, Best Coach and Best Women's Player.