Gyan, Ayew, Eto'o, Toure and Drogba have been nominated for the award

Voting has closed for the 2010 BBC African Footballer of Year award.

Asamoah Gyan and Andre 'Dede' Ayew of Ghana, Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o, and Yaya Toure and Didier Drogba of Ivory Coast are the five candidates.

Tens of thousands of football fans across the world have cast their votes and the winner will be announced on Friday 17 December on the BBC's African sports programme Fast Track.

This is the only award of its kind to be chosen by football fans.

Drogba took the award last year and other previous winners include Mohamed Aboutrika of Egypt and Togolese star Emmanuel Adebayor.

Both Sunderland striker Gyan and Marseille midfielder Ayew starred for Ghana as they reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time.

The 29-year-old forward Eto'o played a vital role as his Italian side Inter Milan won the Champions League and a domestic double.

English Premier League side Chelsea secured a league and cup double for the first time in their history, thanks in part to the goals of 32-year-old striker Drogba.

Meanwhile, Toure, 27, became the highest-paid footballer in English football following his move from Barcelona to Manchester City earlier this year.

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