Tuesday, December 17, 2024
Year : 2, Issue: 16
AFP: Nigeria forward Ademola Lookman was named 2024 African men’s player of the year at a ceremony in Marrakesh on Monday, while Zambia’s Barbra Banda picked up the women’s award.
Lookman succeeds compatriot Victor Osimhen, who last year became the first Nigerian winner since Nwankwo Kanu in 1999.
The 27-year-old owes his achievement to consistently excellent performances both for Nigeria and current Serie A leaders Atalanta.
His three goals helped Nigeria reach the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations final, where they led hosts the Ivory Coast before losing 2-1 in Abidjan.
The runners-up included South African Ronwen Williams, who won the best goalkeeper and best club player awards.
Instead of the traditional three nominees for the best player award, there were five given the closeness of the voting among the coaches and captains of African national teams.
The other runners-up were Morocco full-back Achraf Hakimi, Ivory Coast winger Simon Adingra and Guinea forward Serhou Guirassy.
Banda best woman
Zambia forward Banda won the women’s player of the year award in recognition of her many goals for American club Orlando Pride and her country.
Banda scored four goals for Zambia at the 2024 Paris Olympics, including a hat-trick in a group-stage loss to Australia.
