Eto'o finished ahead of Ivorian striker Didier Drogba and Jay-Jay Okocha in the vote of members of the Confederation of African Football's media and technical committee.

Eto'o was lauded for his performance in 2003 when he helped Cameroon to reach the final of the Confederations Cup in France in June and scored a stunning individual goal in the tournament as Cameroon beat world champions Brazil 21-0 in Lyon.

During the tournament, he also returned to his Spanish club Real Mallorca to score twice in the King's Cup final, which they won with a 3-0 win over Recreativo Huelva in Elche.

Eto'o follows in the footsteps of compatriots Roger Milla, Thomas Nkono, Jean Manga Onguene, Theophile Abega and Patrick Mboma as a winner of the award.

The announcement was greeted with much celebration by the home crowd and a large audience which had assembled outside the venue.

Eto'o dedicated the award to his former international team mate Marc-Vivien Foe, who died from a heart attack during the Confederations Cup semi-final against Colombia in Lyon in June. Foe's wife accompanied Eto'o onto the stage to receive the award.

"I thank all who helped me in my career but this is an award I must dedicate to Marco," he said.

Okocha had been nominated for his performances for Nigeria and English club Bolton Wanderers in 2003, while Drogba finished in the top three for his goalscoring performances for both En Avant Guingamp and Olympique Marseille in the French Ligue 1 last year.

Cameroon's national team were also named as the African team of the year after finishing as runners-up to hosts France at last June's Confederations Cup.

African Champions League winners Enyimba won two trophies on Friday after being named club of the year and Kadiri Ikhana coach f the year.

Nigerian Obafemi Martins, who made an impact in last season's UEFA Champions League with Inter Milan, was named as Africa's Young Player of the Year.

(Liverpool, England and Senegal)

2003: Samuel Eto'o (Real Mallorca, Spain and Cameroon)

The award was organised by the French soccer magazine 'France Football' until 1994, after which the Confederation of African Football instituted a new award.

ALL WINNERS

Reuters, yaounde

Full list of past African Footballer of the Year award winners:

1970: Salif Keita (St Etienne, France and Mali)
1971: Ibrahim Sunday (Asante Kotoko and Ghana)
1972: Cherif Souleymane (Hafia and Guinea)
1973: Tshimen Bwanga (TP Mazembe Englebert and Zaire)
1974: Paul Moukila (CARA Brazzaville and Congo)
1975: Ahmed Faras (Mohammedia and Morocco)
1976: Roger Milla (Canon Yaounde and Cameroon)
1977: Tarak Dhiab (Esperance and Tunisia)
1978: Karim Abdoul Razak (Asante Kotoko and Ghana)
1979: Thomas Nkono (Canon Yaounde and Cameroon)
1980: Jean Manga Onguene (Canon Yaounde and Cameroon)
1981: Lakhdar Belloumi (GCR Mascara and Algeria)
1982: Thomas Nkono (Espanyol, Spain and Cameroon)
1983: Mahmoud Al Khatib (Al Ahli and Egypt)
1984: Theophile Abega (Toulouse, France and Cameroon)
1985: Mohamed Timoumi (Royal Armed Forces and Morocco)
1986: Badou Ezaki (Real Mallorca, Spain and Morocco)
1987: Rabah Madjer (FC Porto, Portugal and Algeria)
1988: Kalusha Bwalya (Cercle Bruges, Belgium and Zambia)
1989: George Weah (Monaco, France and Liberia)
1990: Roger Milla (St Denis, Reunion and Cameroon)
1991: Abedi Pele Ayew (Marseille, France and Ghana)
1992: Abedi Pele Ayew (Marseille, France and Ghana)
1993: Abedi Pele Ayew (Lyon France and Ghana)
1994: George Weah (Paris St Germain, France and Liberia) and Emmanuel Amunike (Sporting Lisbon, Portugal and Nigeria)
1995: George Weah (AC Milan, Italy and Liberia)
1996: Nwankwo Kanu (Inter Milan, Italy and Nigeria)
1997: Victor Ikpeba (Monaco, France and Nigeria)
1998: Mustapha Hadji (Deportivo Coruna, Spain and Morocco)
1999: Nwankwo Kanu (Arsenal, England and Nigeria)
2000: Patrick Mboma (Parma, Italy and Cameroon)
2001: El Hadji Ousseynou Diouf (Rennes, France and Senegal)
2002: El Hadji Ousseynou Diouf