Ademola Lookman Leads Nigeria at CAF Awards 2024

Ademola Lookman will lead Nigeria’s quest for honors at the CAF Awards in Marrakech, Morocco, this Monday.

The Atalanta attacker is in pole position to be named CAF Player of the Year for 2024 after a spectacular season that included a record hat-trick in the Europa League final.

Last year, Lookman’s countrymen Victor Osimhen and Asisat Oshoala won the men’s and women’s CAF titles, respectively.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced the final shortlist for this year’s men’s trophy, stating that it was a close call.

As a result, they were unable to narrow the list down to three options. Lookman will face South Africa’s Ronwen Williams, Cote d’Ivoire’s Simon Adingra, Guinea’s Serhou Guirassy, and Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi for Africa’s best individual football trophy.

However, in Morroco on Monday, the Atalanta man is favoured to take the crown from his compatriot Osimhen. The statistics tell it all! In the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) played earlier in the year, Lookman was an inspirational figure for Nigeria, notching three goals and two assists in seven games as the Super Eagles flew to a second-place finish. He struck a brace in the last 16 match against Cameroon before bagging the winner in the quarter-final vs Angola.

His performances in Cote d’Ivoire earned him a place in the Team of the Tournament, about two years after he switched allegiance to Nigeria from England. Lookman followed up the AFCON outing with a historic hat-trick as Atalanta defeated Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final, ending the German side’s unbeaten season run and giving his team their second major crown since 1963.

So far this season, the winger has 11 goals and five assists in 18 games in all competitions for his Italian club. Lookman has also impressed for the Super Eagles after the AFCON. He played a key role in the team’s AFCON 2025 qualification, scoring twice. During the qualification series, two of his goals were disallowed due to disputed circumstances.

The 27-year-old was the only African in the Ballon d’Or shortlist this year and finished in an impressive 14th place.

Lookman will not be the only Nigerian competing for accolades in Morocco. In the women’s division, the soft-spoken Chiamaka Nnadozie hopes to return home with the Player of the Year trophy, which Oshoala has won six times. However, she confronts heavy opposition in the form of Zambia’s Barbra Banda and Moroccan Sanâa Mssoudy.

Nnadozie, a key player for French club Paris FC, helped Nigeria secure an Olympic berth after a 16-year hiatus. The Super Falcon is also a favourite to retain the Goalkeeper of the Year award. She will face Andile Dlamini (South Africa) and Khadija Er-Rmichi (Morocco) for that.

Chiamaka Okwuchukwu of Falconets completes Nigeria’s trio of individual prize finalists for the CAF Awards in 2024. She made the final shortlist for Young Player of the Year (women) after leading Nigeria to the final eight of this year’s U-20 World Cup in Colombia. Okwuchukwu was also a member of Nigeria’s squad that advanced to the Africa Games final.

For the team awards, the Super Eagles and Falcons were nominated for men’s and women’s teams of the year, respectively. The former sees South Africa and Cote d’Ivoire as candidates, while the latter has Morocco, South Africa, Zambia, and Cameroon’s U-20 team.

Edo Queens, who advanced to the CAF Women’s Champions League semi-finals in their maiden season, were also named Women’s Club of the Year.

As the world awaits the 2024 CAF Awards ceremony, all eyes will be on Lookman to lead his country to victory in the imperial Moroccan city of Marrakech.