Herewith the speech by CAF President at the 2014 Glo-CAF Awards Gala held on 8 January 2015 at the Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos, Nigeria:

Honouring the Ambassadors of African Football

For the tenth time since concluding the partnership agreement between the Confederation of African Football and the Nigerian telecommunications company – Globacom, the men and women who, in one way or the other, contributed to the radiance of African football, have a deserving place alongside their seniors who forever feature in the pantheon of the continent.

If the trophy that distinguishes the Player of the Year were placed in focus, the multiplication of rewards would honour the widest range of our discipline, trying not to forget anyone - players, teams, coaches and now the leaders.

And even if certain designations sometimes lead to controversy, the pride of CAF has always been to reward great champions. The vote of the grand electors, all of them specialists in the game, is totally independent. CAF only comes in to count the votes cast, in order to calculate the scores obtained by those that were shortlisted and establish the final ranking.

From 1992, the year when CAF Trophies were established, from Abedi Pelé to Yaya Touré, the champion of champions has always been grand.

Rashidi Yekini, Emmanuel Amunike, George Weah, Nwankwo Kanu, Victor Ikpeba, Mustapha Hadji, Patrick Mboma, El Hadji Diouf, Samuel Eto’o, Didier Drogba, Frédéric Kanouté, Emmanuel Adebayor, Seydou Keita.

Other players would have been very deserving to feature there; Jay Jay Okocha for instance. The technicians decided it otherwise. It is the law of the genre.