By Victor Kanayo
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has named a final five shortlist of men in the 2024 Awards category.
In it, Nigerian international Ademola Lookman has been included in the final nominees for the CAF Men’s Player of the Year.
This is the first time the Atalanta star has been included in the final shortlist.
Lookman had an exemplary year for both club and country.
The 27-year-old scored three goals and registered one assist in seven appearances for the Super Eagles at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d’Ivoire.
The winger also scored a historic hat-trick for Atalanta in the final of the UEFA Europa League.
Lookman has so far racked up 11 goals and five assists from 18 outings across all competitions for La Dea this season.
He will battle Simon Adingra, Serhou Guirassy, Achraf Hakimi, and Ronwen Williams for the prestigious award.
National Teams Nomination
Meanwhile, the Super Eagles and the Super Falcons have been nominated for the 2024 CAF Men’s and Women’s National Team of the Year.
African champions Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire and Bafana Bafana of South Africa are nominated for Men’s National Team of the Year, while Banyana Banyana of South Africa and Atlas Lionesses of Morocco are in the running for Women’s National Team of the Year.
The Super Eagles came second at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire.
The West Africans lost 2-1 against the hosts in the final.
The Super Falcons were eliminated at the group stage of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France.
