By Nurudeen Obalola
Super Eagles and Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman has been included in a five-man shortlist for the CAF Awards Men’s Player of the Year prize, while Stanley Nwabali is still in the race for Goalkeeper of the Year.
Lookman is nominated along with Simon Adingra (Cote d’Ivoire/Brighton & Hove Albion), Serhou Guirassy (Guinea/Borussia Dortmund), Achraf Hakimi (Morocco/Paris Saint-Germain), and Ronwen Williams (South Africa/ Mamelodi Sundowns).
The Confederation of African Football officially unveiled the top five nominees in each of the men’s categories of the CAF Awards on Monday night.
Lookman has had an outstanding 2024 and is the favourite to succeed his compatriot Victor Osimhen, the current holder of the award.
The 27-year-old forward shone at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire in January and February, scoring three goals as the Super Eagles reached the final.
He was named in the Team of the Tournament, and followed up with a historic hat-trick in the UEFA Europa League final as Atalanta defeated Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 to win the trophy.
The Nigeria international was the only African among the 30 Ballon d’Or nominees for 2024, and he finished 14th.
The 2024 edition of the CAF Awards will be held in Marrakech, Morocco on December 16.
Other categories announced on Monday are Goalkeeper of the Year, Interclub Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Young Player of the Year, Club of the Year, and National Team of the Year.
“The glittering ceremony is designed to celebrate African football excellence recognizes exceptional performances in both club and national competitions, culminating in the prestigious titles of CAF African Player of the Year in both the men’s and women’s categories,” CAF said.
The 2024 CAF Awards cover the period between January 2024 and October 2024.
Top Five (in alphabetical order of Member Association)
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Simon Adingra (Cote d’Ivoire / Brighton & Hove Albion)
Serhou Guirassy (Guinea/Borussia Dortmund)
Achraf Hakimi (Morocco/Paris Saint-Germain)
Ademola Lookman (Nigeria/Atalanta)
Ronwen Williams (South Africa/Mamelodi Sundowns)
GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR
Andre Onana (Cameroon / Manchester United)
Yahia Fofana (Cote d’Ivoire / Angers SCO)
Mostafa Shobeir (Egypt / Al Ahly)
Stanley Nwabali (Nigeria / Chippa United)
Ronwen Wlliams (South Africa / Mamelodi Sundowns)
INTERCLUB PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Issoufou Dayo (Burkina Faso / RS Berkane)
Ahmed Sayed ‘Zizo’ (Egypt / Zamalek)
Hussein El Shahat (Egypt / Al Ahly)
Mostafa Shobeir (Egypt / Al Ahly)
Ronwen Wlliams (South Africa / Mamelodi Sundowns)
COACH OF THE YEAR
Pedro Goncalves (Angola)
Emerse Fae (Cote d’Ivoire)
Sebastien Desabre (DR Congo)
Marcel Koller (Al Ahly)
Hugo Broos (South Africa)
YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Karim Konate (Cote d’Ivoire / Salzburg)
Oumar Diakite (Cote d’Ivoire / Reims)
Yankuba Minteh (Gambia / Brighton & Hove Albion)
Eliesse Ben Seghir (Morocco / AS Monaco)
Lamine Camara (Senegal / AS Monaco)
CLUB OF THE YEAR
Al Ahly (Egypt)
Zamalek (Egypt)
RS Berkane (Morocco)
Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)
Esperance Sportive de Tunis (Tunisia)
NATIONAL TEAM OF THE YEAR
Cote d’ivoire
DR Congo
Nigeria
South Africa
Sudan
