Nigeria’s Super Eagles and Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman has been crowned the 2024 CAF Men’s Player of the Year.
The award ceremony took place on Monday in Marrakech, Morocco, where Lookman triumphed over strong contenders, including Achraf Hakimi, Simon Adingra, Ronwen Williams, and Serhou Guirassy.
Lookman succeeds his compatriot Victor Osimhen, who won the award in 2023. This marks the first time Nigeria has secured back-to-back CAF Player of the Year titles since Nwankwo Kanu and Victor Ikpeba achieved the feat in 1996 and 1997, respectively.
It has been a remarkable year for Lookman, who began 2024 by playing a key role in Nigeria’s journey to the AFCON 2023 final, where they narrowly lost to Côte d’Ivoire.
Despite the disappointment of losing the final, Lookman earned a spot in the Team of the Tournament. He carried his exceptional form back to Atalanta, guiding them to the Coppa Italia final, though they fell 1-0 to Juventus.
Lookman etched his name in history during the Europa League final, scoring a hat-trick in Atalanta’s 3-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen—the first-ever hat-trick in the competition’s final. His stellar displays earned him a Ballon d’Or nomination, finishing 14th as the only African nominee.
Meanwhile, Zambia’s Barbra Banda won CAF Women’s Player of the Year, with Nigeria’s Chiamaka Nnadozie claiming the Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year award, and the Super Falcons named Women’s National Team of the Year.