Egypt and Ahli midfielder Mohamed Barakat won the 2005 BBC African Footballer of the Year award after receiving the majority of 15,000 votes in a poll held on the BBC’s African football website.

Barakat, who topped the votes as the best African player for last year, came ahead of second-place Samuel Eto'o of Cameroon, Nigerian ace Obafemi Martins, who came in third-place of Nigeria, Ghana's Michael Essien and Nigerian star Jay-Jay Okocha, clinched the award for the past two years, BBC Sport indicated.

The 29-year-old midfielder played a crucial role in Ahli’s 55-match winning streak and led his side to victory in the African Champions League after netting seven goals and earning the top-scorer award along with Enyimba ace Joetex Frempong.

BBC had announced earlier that they will present the winning player with the award during the African Cup of Nations (ACN) in Egypt that will kick-off on January 20th.

Filgoal.com took the lead and announced about the poll during last November, an aspect which sparked the interest of many Egyptian football fans.