Connect with us

Sports

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

Published

on

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.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sports

DHQ Clarifies Facts About Canada Visas Denials to Invictus Games

Furthermore, the participation of the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, would have added mental strength to our troops.

Published

on

By

The Director of Defence Information, Brigadier -General Tukur Gusau, Defence Headquarters, this morning, presented the fact regarding Nigeria Military’s request for visas to attend Invictus Games in Canada.

In a statement,  Brig. Gen Gusau, said that the need for accurate information at this time can not be overemphasized.

He explained: “Recently, the Nigerian Military received an invitation to participate in the Invictus Games in Vancouver, Canada.

Our team, comprising 3 officers and 21 players, including a team physiotherapist, eagerly looked forward to this opportunity, as the only African nation participating in the Games.

The Invictus Games Foundation catered for our team’s accommodation and feeding needs, along with those of other participating nations.

However, despite our best efforts, only 14 members of the team, excluding the team leader, captain, and physiotherapist, were granted visas.

Regrettably, seven of our athletes who had the potential to excel were denied visas, preventing them from participating in the Games.

Notwithstanding this setback, our team’s outstanding performance earned Nigeria gold, silver and bronze medals, proudly placing our nation and Africa on the global map of Invictus Games.

Furthermore, the participation of the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, would have added mental strength to our troops.

It is on record that the Chief of Defence Staff has initiated laudable efforts to boost the morale of our service personnel who risk their lives to protect our nation and its people.

The Invictus Foundation Centre,(first in Africa) currently under construction, is part of this initiative to provide care and mental healing for our wounded personnel.”

Continue Reading

Sports

JUST IN: Kenya, Ethiopia Runners Win Access Lagos City Marathon Again

Published

on

The 2025 edition of the annual 42km 2024 Access Bank Lagos City Marathon has been once again dominated by East African runners from Kenya and Ethiopia.

Kenya’s Edwin Kibet on Saturday emerged winner in the men category, clocking a time of 2:14:06 to win the $50,000 price money.

Kibet came third last year behind his compatriot Bernard Sang who won it with a time of 02:16:49 and another Kenyan Cheprot who came second.

In the women’s category, Ethiopia’s Guta Meseret Hirpa emerged victorious.

More to follow…

Continue Reading

Sports

Former Bayern Munich player, 18, left ‘brain dead’ after head to knee collision during a match in Spain

Published

on

A teenage Chinese player, who was previously part of Bayern Munich’s World Squad, has reportedly been diagnosed with ‘brain death’ following a match in Spain.

Guo Jiaxuan, an 18-year-old defender, was reportedly struck in the face by a knee during training camp last Thursday.

He had been playing in a training match against Spanish side RC Alcobendas at a camp organised by the Beijing Football Association.

His brother revealed on social media that Guo had suffered a subarachnoid haemorrhage – a form of stroke caused by bleeding on the brain – following the accidental collision.

Doctors in Madrid have diagnosed Guo with ‘brain death’, according to his brother.

‘During training [last Thursday], he was rushed to [hospital] after being hit in the head by another player’s knee,’ Guo’s brother wrote on social media.

From the interpreter, I learned that the doctor at the hospital said my brother had too much bleeding in his head and that there was little hope of survival… the hospital was going to remove his [life support] tubes.’

Guo’s father had reportedly refused the doctor’s suggestion to turn off his son’s life support and perform an autopsy, and has instead sought for him to be repatriated to China for further treatment.

The South China Morning Post reported that Guo’s family have accused the Beijing Football Association and his club Beijing Guoan of failing to cover his medical bills.

The family claimed the Beijing FA had failed to buy insurance for the trip.

The organisation has reportedly now reached an agreement to transport Guo to China and will support his continued treatment.

Guo had previously represented the Chinese national team at under-17 level and had been invited to train with Bayern Munich in 2023.

He had become part of Bayern Munich’s World Squad, an international project by the German giants aimed at developing promising players from around the world.

Following the match last week, Spanish side RC Alcobendas offered a message of support for Guo and his family.

‘From RC Alcobendas we want to express our deep concern for the player from the Beijing Football Association delegation who suffered an accident during the friendly match played this morning against our first team,’ the club wrote last week.

Continue Reading

Trending