Ademola Lookman and Chiamaka Nnadozie, both from Nigeria, have advanced to the final shortlist for the CAF Player of the Year awards in the men’s and women’s divisions, respectively.
The women’s national team, the Super Falcons, and Nigeria’s Super Eagles both made it to the final three for the Team of the Year award in the final shortlist, which was made public on Thursday.
The Italian Serie A team’s Lookman, who plays for Atalanta, made headlines last season when he scored a hat-trick in the Europa League final, which his team won. He was also a crucial member of the team that helped the Super Eagles lose to Cote d’Ivoire in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final.
Along with being selected for the competition’s Team of the Tournament, the Nigerian will face off against Guinea striker Serhou Guirassy, South Africa’s Ronwen Williams, Cote d’Ivoire’s Simon Adingra, and Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi.
Nnadozie, Lookman’s rival, is vying for two CAF prizes. The Paris FC player is in a strong position to win Women’s Keeper of the Year again. Along with Sanaa Mssoudy of Morocco and Babra Banda of Zambia, she is also a candidate for Women’s Player of the Year.
In the meantime, the Super Eagles are competing against South Africa and Cote d’Ivoire for the Male Team of the Year award. The Nigerian team qualified for the 2025 tournament by finishing second in the AFCON.
The Women’s Team of the Year shortlist included the Super Falcons. South Africa and Morocco are the other finalists.
Chiamaka Okwuchukwu, another Nigerian and Falconets star, was included on the shortlist for the Women’s Young Player of the Year award. She was listed with Habiba Sabry of FC Masar and Doha El Madani of Asfar.
Nigeria’s squad for the FIFA U-20 Women’s Cup included Rivers Angels player Chiamaka, who scored twice and provided one assist as the Falconets lost in the round of 16.
The Edo Queens of Nigeria were included on the final shortlist for the Women’s Club of the Year honour. The other two are TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Asfar of Morocco.
Morocco’s Marrakech will host the CAF Awards on Monday. The CAF Men Player of the Year award goes to Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen, while the women’s award goes to his countryman Asisat Oshoala.
