Sports

CAF Awards 2024: Ademola Leads Nigeria’s Date With Destiny

Published

1 year ago

December 16, 2024

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Atalanta forward, Ademola Lookman will lead Nigeria’s quest for honours at the CAF Awards in the Moroccan City of Marrakech.

Lookman is in pole position to be crowned the CAF Player of the Year for 2024 following a stunning campaign that saw him win the Europa League where he bagged a historic hat-trick in the final.

Last year, Lookman’s compatriots Victor Osimhen and Asisat Oshoala scooped the men’s and women’s CAF prizes respectively.

In announcing the final shortlist for the men’s prize for this year, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) said it was a close call, thus their inability to prune the list to three.

That means Lookman will battle South Africa’s Ronwen Williams; Cote d’Ivoire’s Simon Adingra; Guinea’s Serhou Guirassy and Achraf Hakimi of Morocco for Africa’s top individual football prize.

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 scored 11 goals and five assists in 18 games across all competitions for his Italian side.

Lookman has also been impressive for the Super Eagles after the AFCON. He was instrumental in the team’s AFCON 2025 qualification, scoring two goals in the process.

Two of his goals were ruled off in controversial conditions during that qualification series.

Nigeria’s forward #18 Ademola Lookman (C) celebrates scoring his team’s first goal with Nigeria’s forward #9 Victor Osimhen (R) during the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2024 round of 16 football match between Nigeria and Cameroon at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan on January 27, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

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

Lookman won’t be the only Nigerian going for honours in Morocco. In the women’s category, the soft-spoken Chiamaka Nnadozie will hope to take the Player of the Year award – won six times by Oshoala – back home.

But she faces stiff competition in the mold of Zambia’s Barbra Banda and Moroccan Sanâa Mssoudy.Nnadozie, a key figure for French side Paris FC, helped Nigeria seal an Olympics ticket after a 16-year absence.

The Super Falcon is equally a favourite to retain the Goalkeeper of the Year gong. She is up against Andile Dlamini (South Africa) and Khadija Er-Rmichi of Morocco for that.Falconet’s Chiamaka Okwuchukwu completes Nigeria’s trio of contenders for individual prizes in the CAF Awards for 2024.

She made the final shortlist for the Young Player of the Year (women) after helping Nigeria reach the last eight of this year’s U-20 World Cup in Colombia.

Okwuchukwu also featured in the Nigerian squad that got to the final of the Africa Games.For the team prizes, the Super Eagles and Falcons were nominated for the men’s and women’s teams of the year in that order.

For the former, South Africa and Cote d’Ivoire are contenders while the latter has Morocco, South Africa, Zambia, and the Cameroon U-20 side.

Edo Queens who got to the semi-final of the CAF Women’s Champions League in their debut also earned a spot in the Women’s Club of the Year category.

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

Sports

Anthony Joshua discharged from hospital

Gbenga Omotoso, Lagos Commissioner of Information, and Kayode Akinmade, Special Adviser to the Ogun State Governor on Information and Strategy, confirmed the discharge of the boxing champion.

Published

23 hours ago

January 1, 2026

OCHEFA

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British-Nigerian heavyweight boxer, Anthony Joshua, has been discharged from Duchess International Hospital in Ikeja, Lagos.

Joshua, who survived an accident that led to the loss of the lives of two of his friends, was involved in the accident on Lagos-Ibadan expressway.

In a statement on Thursday, Gbenga Omotoso, Lagos Commissioner of Information, and Kayode Akinmade, Special Adviser to the Ogun State Governor on Information and Strategy, confirmed the discharge of the boxing champion.

The governments of Lagos and Ogun states once again, commiserate with the families of the two young men Lateef Ayodele and Gami Cina who tragically and unfortunately lost their lives in the road accident involving Anthony Joshua.”

Sports

AFCON 2025: Super Eagles to battle Mozambique January 5

Nigeria cruised through the group stage with maximum points, winning all three matches, scoring eight goals and conceding four.

Published

23 hours ago

January 1, 2026

OCHEFA

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The Super Eagles of Nigeria will clash with Mozambique in one of the Round of 16 fixtures at the ongoing 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.

The 35,000-capacity Complexe Sportif de Fès, Nigeria’s home ground throughout their Group C matches, will host the encounter, which kicks off at 8:00 p.m. on Monday, January 5.

Nigeria cruised through the group stage with maximum points, winning all three matches, scoring eight goals and conceding four.

Ademola Lookman and Raphael Onyedika have each scored twice, while Semi Ajayi, Victor Osimhen, Wilfred Ndidi and Paul Onuachu have also found the net.

Mozambique, on the other hand, began their campaign with a loss to defending champions Côte d’Ivoire, bounced back with a hard-fought victory over Gabon, and then fell 2–1 to Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions on Wednesday evening.

Historically, Nigeria have dominated this fixture, winning four of their five previous meetings. This includes their only AFCON clash, a 3–0 victory in Lubango, Angola, in January 2010.

Sports

Nwabali: I almost quit football when my parents died

On January 1, Nwabali took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce the passing of his mother, describing 2025 as “the worst year of my life.

Published

1 day ago

December 31, 2025

OCHEFA

30 Views

•Super Eagles goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali

Super Eagles goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali has shared the emotional struggles he has faced after he lost both of his parents within a short span

Nwabali , in an interview with ACL Sports while in camp with the Super Eagles in Morocco, as the team prepares for their Round of 16 tie after qualifying top of Group C with an untainted nine points from three matches, reflected on his journey through grief.

He revealed that the loss of his parents last year was particularly painful and at one point made him consider quitting football.

With the support of his teammates, he found the strength to continue playing despite the immense grief.

“My mom passed away on this day last year around 12 pm. I try to move on and be strong, but sometimes I feel like quitting.

At one point, I even told my captain that I wanted to quit football. But with the support of some of my teammates, I was able to carry on.

My mom and dad were so dear to me. Losing them has been incredibly painful. It’s not something any footballer—or any human—should have to experience: losing both parents.”

Nwabali’s father passed away in November 2025, only hours after he played in the Super Eagles’ 1-1 draw against Benin Republic in the 2025 Nations Cup qualifiers.

On January 1, Nwabali took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce the passing of his mother, describing 2025 as “the worst year of my life.”

He wrote: “RIP mom, worst year of my life already,” alongside heartbreak and tear emojis. Before the announcement, he had posted: “A very very crazy world indeed.”