Elizabeth Antidius Shumbusho | Africa Guardian
At the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Awards held in Marrakesh on Monday, Nigeria’s Ademola Lookman and Zambia’s Barbra Banda were named the African Men’s and Women’s Players of the Year, respectively.
Lookman, 27, succeeded his fellow Nigerian, Victor Osimhen, who claimed the honor last year. Osimhen’s win marked the first time a Nigerian had been awarded the title since Nwankwo Kanu in 1999. Lookman earned this recognition through his consistent brilliance for both Nigeria and Serie A leaders Atalanta.
The forward played a key role in Nigeria’s 2024 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) run, scoring three goals to help his team reach the final. Nigeria, however, lost 2-1 to hosts Ivory Coast. Lookman netted two goals in a 3-1 victory over Cameroon in the Round of 16 and secured the winner in a 1-0 win over Angola in the quarter-finals. A few months after the tournament, he starred in Atalanta’s 3-0 Europa League final win over Bayer Leverkusen in Dublin, scoring a hat-trick.
“This is something incredible. To the youth of Africa, I say – never give up. Turn pain to power,” Lookman said after accepting the award.
The top three finalists for the men’s award were expanded to five this year due to the tight voting among national team coaches and captains. The runners-up included South African goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi, Ivory Coast winger Simon Adingra, and Guinea forward Serhou Guirassy.
In the women’s category, Barbra Banda was honored for her impressive performances with Orlando Pride and Zambia. The 24-year-old scored four goals for Zambia at the 2024 Paris Olympics, including a hat-trick against Australia in the group stage. She also helped Orlando Pride secure their first-ever National Women’s Soccer League title, contributing 13 goals during the regular season and four more in the playoffs.
The runners-up in the women’s category were Morocco’s Sanaa Mssoudy and Nigeria’s Chiamaka Nnadozie, who each triumphed in other categories.
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