The Confederation of African Football (CAF) have crowned Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman as the Player of the Year.
Lookman has enjoyed an outstanding year for club and country. He got his Nigeria debut in March 2022, but he has grown to become an important player for the team.
The 27-year-old attacker played a vital role for Nigeria at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, registering three goals and one assist in seven games to help them to a second-place finish.
At club level, the former Everton man has been phenomenal. Last season, he contributed 16 goals and ten assists in 45 appearances across all competitions. However, the world really took notice of him after his superb showing in the final of the UEFA Europa League, where he scored a hattrick to help Atalanta claim the title.
Due to his performances, the Nigerian forward was nominated for the CAF Player of the Year award, alongside Simon Adingra, Serhou Guirassy, and Achraf Hakimi. But he was always head and shoulders above them. And in the award ceremony that took place in Marrakech, Morocco on Monday, he was announced as the winner.
Lookman follows Victor Osimhen’s footsteps, who became the first Nigerian to win the award in over 20 years after he won the award last year.
The other big winner on the night was Zambian star Barbra Banda, who was crowned the Women’s football Player of the Year. South African star goalkeeper Ronwen William was named the men’s goalkeeper of the year, when Nigeria’s Chiamaka Nnadozie won the female award.
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