The BBC African Sports Personality of the Year was an annual award given to the best African sports personality of the year as voted by the BBC radio listeners. Voting is done via SMS and online.

Abedi Ayew, known professionally as Abedi Pele, is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder and who served as captain of the Ghana national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest African footballers of all time. He played for several European clubs and found his fame in the French Ligue 1 with Lille and Marseille, the latter where he won the UEFA Champions League in 1993, among other titles. He was also the first to win CAF award in 1992.