CAF AWARDS
Why Ademola Lookman is the right man for the CAF top Award – NFF
BY ADEMOLA OLAJIRE
All things being equal, Nigeria’s Ademola Lookman should be crowned the African Player of the Year at Monday evening’s 2024 CAF Awards at the Palais des Congrés in the Moroccan city of Marrakech.
His three goals and two assists were pivotal to Nigeria reaching their eighth Africa Cup of Nations Final in Cote d’Ivoire in February, and his hat-trick in a 3-0 win handed Italian side, Atalanta FC the UEFA Europa Cup at the expense of hitherto-rampaging German side, Bayer Leverkusen in May.
This season, he has notched 11 goals and five assists in 18 appearances in all competitions for Atalanta (including a goal against record winners Real Madrid FC in the UEFA Champions League), and scored two goals as Nigeria qualified for the 35th Africa Cup of Nations finals, with two other goals controversially chalked off.
None of the four other final nominees comes close. Ivorian Simon Adingra, whose remarkable second-half performance saw the Elephants overcome Nigeria in the AFCON Final in Abidjan on 11 February, cannot point to such a glittering record with English Premier League club, Brighton.
Incidentally, Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire appear to always run neck-and-neck in continental titles.
Both countries have three AFCON titles each, and have scooped the Men’s Player of the Year title six times since the awards were taken over by CAF in 1992.
Cameroon lead with 11 titles (including Samuel Eto’O’s quadruple) dating back to 1970 when France Football first organized the awards, while Ghana have five (including Abedi Pele’s treble).
Victory for Nigeria on Monday evening will see the country become stand-alone number two, with previous winners being Rashidi Yekini (1993), Emmanuel Amuneke (1994), Nwankwo Kanu (1996 and 1999), Victor Ikpeba (1997) and Victor Osimhen (2023). It will also mean Lookman taking over from fellow Nigeria striker Osimhen. Cote d’Ivoire’s six have been won by Yaya Toure (quadruple) and Didier Drogba (double).
Guinea’s Serhou Guirassy, who notched a number of magnificent goals in the 2025 AFCON qualifying campaign, failed to steer Guinea to the AFCON finals, and has not pulled up too many trees with Borussia Dortmund in Germany this season.
South African goalkeeper Ronwen Williams has better chances in the goalkeeper of the year category, which he contests with Cameroon’s Andre Onana and Ivorian Yahia Fofana. Moroccan defender Achraf Hakimi can hardly stake a claim.
In the women’s category, Nigeria’s Chiamaka Nnadozie is a worthy contender for the Player of the Year (won for the sixth time last year by compatriot Asisat Oshoala), and the gong will cap a remarkable year for the soft-spoken safe hands who helped Nigeria re-appear at the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament after 16 years, was key to the Falcons’ qualification for next year’s AFCON and drew rave reviews all around with French club, Paris FC. She is in competition with Moroccan Sanâa Mssoudy and Zambian Barbra Banda.
Nnadozie is also in contention to retain her Goalkeeper of the Year award, with Andile Dlamini (South Africa) and Khadija Er-Rmichi as contenders.
There is also Nigerian interest in Women’s Young Player of the Year category, with former junior international Chiamaka Okwuchukwu contending with Egyptian Habiba Sabry and Morocco’s Doha El Madani. Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala won the first-ever title in this category, back in 2021.
Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria and South Africa (in the same order they finished on the podium at the AFCON) are in the race for the Men’s National Team of the Year, and Morocco, South Africa and Nigeria (who are the gong-holders and have finished the year as Africa’s number one on the FIFA ranking) battle for the women’s gong. Nigeria’s Edo Queens are in the shortlist for Women’s Club of the Year, alongside TP Mazembe of DR Congo and South AS FAR of Morocco.
Will we see Lookman standing together with Nnadozie as winners of the Player of the Year awards in both categories (as we saw Nwankwo Kanu and Mercy Akide-Udoh in 1999, and Victor Osimhen and Asisat Oshoala in 2023)?
Award Categories (Nigeria interest)
Men’s Player of the Year (Ademola Lookman)
Women’s Player of the Year (Chiamaka Nnadozie)
Men’s Coach of the Year
Women’s Coach of the Year
Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year
Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year (Chiamaka Nnadozie)
Men’s Interclub Player of the Year
Women’s Interclub Player of the Year
Men’s Young Player of the Year
Women’s Young Player of the Year (Chiamaka Okwuchukwu)
Men’s National Team of the Year (Super Eagles)
Women’s National Team of the Year (Super Falcons)
Men’s Club of the Year
Women’s Club of the Year (Edo Queens)
Goal of the Year
BY JOSEPH ODOEKWU.
The National Chairman of the Nigeria Football Supporters Club (NFSC) Samuel Ikpea has described the newly crowned African Footballer of the Year Ademola Lookman as a living legend.
Ikpea who lauded the Atalanta and Super Eagles forward following his emergence as the CAF African footballer of the year in Morocco on Monday night said only a legend could accomplish such a feat.
“Lookman has proved to be a legend,” Ikpea remarked.” He has done what Emmanuel Amuneke and Victor Ikpeba did in 1994 and 1997 respectively when they both took over from their compatriot”.
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Amuneke took over from Yekini who won it in 1993 while Ikpeba took over from Kanu who won it in 1996.
Ikpea remarked that such back-to-back victories by Nigeria are remarkable.
“This is the third time this feat has been accomplished and it is good for the image of Nigeria.
“If our players continue like this it will further boost the morale of the Nigeria Football Supporters Club and we shall continue to be proud of our teams” Ikpea posited.
Ikpea who had earlier congratulated Super Falcons goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie for retaining her title and four other Super Falcons players for making the CAF XI also charged the trio of NFF President, the NSC Chairman and his DG to see this accomplishment as an opportunity to bring their wisdom and technical expertise into play and develop Nigeria football.
“I will describe the combination of Gusau, Dikko and Olopade as that of the Three Wise Men, they should therefore put heads together and move our football forward because our players are now making waves on the continent” he concluded.
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Newly African soccer king, Ademola Lookman has advised those who may be facing challenges in the realisation of their dreams to remain calm and focused.
“Four years ago, my career felt down but now I’m here as the best player in Africa. Don’t let your failures stop your dreams”, Reuters quoted Lookman as saying.
“This award is a blessing, to be recognised as best player in Africa is something incredible,” he said.
He was named ahead ofMorocco’s Achraf Hakimi, Serhou Guirassy of Guinea, Simon Adingra from the Cote d’Ivoire and South Africa goalkeeper Ronwen Williams.
The award is voted for by a panel that includes national team coaches and captains, but no details of the voting tallies were immediately provided.
Lookman is the seventh Nigerian to take the award and succeeds last year’s winner Victor Osimhen.
Nwankwo Kanu (twice), Emmanuel Amuneke, Victor Ikpeba and Rashidi Yekini are the other previous Nigerian winners.
Nigeria forward Ademola Lookman, Zambia striker Barbra Banda and South Africa goalkeeper Ronwen Williams were the big winners at a star-studded 2024 CAF Awards in Marrakech, Morocco on Monday as Africa’s best performers for the year were honoured.
The glittering ceremony was attended by football royalty from the continent and beyond in a celebration of the incredible growth and development of the game in Africa, and the astonishing strides that have been made in men’s and women’s football in recent years.
Lookman was named CAF Men’s Player of the Year after a sensational 12 months with Italian side Atalanta and the Nigeria’s Super Eagles follows in the footsteps of compatriot Victor Osimhen, who claimed the award in 2023.
It is the first time Nigeria has had back-to-back winners in the Men’s award since Nwankwo Kanu (1996) and Victor Ikpeba (1997) were honoured almost three decades ago.
Banda took the 2024 National Women’s Soccer League season in the United States by storm as she helped Orlando Pride to the NWSL Shield and Championship, scoring the decisive goal in the final against Washington Spirit.
Her hat trick for Zambia at the Paris Olympics 2024 was her third in Olympic Games football, a record in the competition, elevating her to among the greats to have played the game.
Banda became the first player from Africa to be included in the FIFPRO Women’s World 11 in 2024.
Williamswas the only double winner on the night, collecting the Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year and Men’s Interclub Player of the Year awards.
His spectacular penalty saves at the Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023 will live long in the memory, including four in the quarter-final shootout win against Cape Verde as he captained South Africa to the bronze medal.
The 32-year-old helped his club Mamelodi Sundowns set a joint record low of just 11 goals conceded in 30 games in the South African Premiership as they eased to a seventh domestic league title in succession.
Nigeria’s Chiamaka Nnadozie claimed the Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year award for the second year in a row having had another outstanding season for French side Paris FC, where she was named Première Ligue Goalkeeper of the Season for 2023-24.
AS FAR and Morocco international forward Sanaâ Mssoudy won the Women’s Interclub Player of the Year having claimed the Best Player award at the 2024 CAF Women’s Champions League.
Lamine Camara of Senegal and Monaco was the Men’s Young Player of the Year as the versatile box-to-box midfielder shone for club and country with his dynamic displays.
Doha El Madani of AS FAR and Morocco won the Women’s Young Player of the Year as the 19-year-old secured the Golden Boot at the 2024 CAF Women’s Champions League with six goals in five matches.
The Men’s Coach of the Year went to Emerse Fae after he led Cote d’Ivoire from the brink of elimination to the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations title on home soil in one of the great global sports stories of 2024.
Moroccan tactician Lamia Boumehdi was named Women’s Coach of the Year as she led TP Mazembe from the DR Congo to the 2024 CAF Women’s Champions League title with a win over AS FAR in the decider.
Cote d’Ivoire’s continental crown saw them named Men’s National Team of the Year, while Nigeria’s Super Falcons were the Women’s National Team of the Year.
Al Ahly’s fourth CAF Champions League win in five years made them worthy winners of Men’s Club of the Year, while TP Mazembe took home the Women’s Club of the Year.
Goal of the Year was won by Angola’s Mabululu for his audacious finish against Namibia at the continental finals in Cote d’Ivoire. This was the only award voted for by fans.
In line with the commitment of CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe at last year’s event, match officials were also honoured at the 2024 CAF Awards, Mutaz Ibrahim of Libya was named Men’s Referee of the Year, while Morocco’s Bouchra Karboubi was Women’s Referee of the Year.
Elvis Guy Noupue Nguegoue of Cameroon was awarded Men’s Assistant Referee of the Year and Zambia’s Diana Chikotesha the Women’s Assistant Referee of the Year.
The Men’s CAF-FIFPRO Africa Best XIfor Men and women were also named and honoured the top performers from the continent in each position.
2024 CAF AWARDS WINNERS
CAF PLAYER OF THE YEAR (MEN)
Ademola Lookman (Nigeria / Atalanta)
CAF PLAYER OF THE YEAR (WOMEN)
Barbra Banda (Zambia / Orlando Pride)
CAF GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR (MEN)
Ronwen Williams (South Africa / Mamelodi Sundowns)
CAF GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR (WOMEN)
Chiamaka Nnadozie (Nigeria / Paris FC)
CAF INTERCLUB PLAYER OF THE YEAR (MEN)
Ronwen Williams (South Africa / Mamelodi Sundowns)
CAF INTERCLUB PLAYER OF THE YEAR (WOMEN)
Sanaâ Mssoudy (Morocco / AS FAR)
CAF YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR (MEN)
Lamine Camara (Senegal / AS Monaco)
CAF YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR (WOMEN)
Doha El Madani (Morocco / AS FAR)
CAF COACH OF THE YEAR (MEN)
Emerse Fae (Cote d’Ivoire)
CAF COACH OF THE YEAR (WOMEN)
Lamia Boumehdi (TP Mazembe)
CAF NATIONAL TEAM OF THE YEAR (MEN)
Cote d’Ivoire
CAF NATIONAL TEAM OF THE YEAR (WOMEN)
Nigeria
CAF CLUB OF THE YEAR (MEN)
Al Ahly (Egypt)
CAF CLUB OF THE YEAR (WOMEN)
TP Mazembe (DR Congo)
CAF REFEREE OF THE YEAR (MEN)
Mutaz Ibrahim (Libya)
CAF REFEREE OF THE YEAR (WOMEN)
Bouchra Karboubi (Morocco)
CAF ASSISTANT REFEREE OF THE YEAR (MEN)
Elvis Guy Noupue Nguegoue (Cameroon)
CAF ASSISTANT REFEREE OF THE YEAR (WOMEN)
Diana Chikotesha (Zambia)
CAF GOAL OF THE YEAR
Mabululu (Angola)
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