Super Eagles forward Victor Osimhen has been nominated for the African Player of the Year award scheduled to be held in Marrakesh, Morocco, on December 11.
The Napoli forward has been impressive since the beginning of the 2022–23 season, helping Napoli to their first triumph in Serie A in 33 years and also ensuring they got to the quarter-finals stage of the Champions League for the first time.
Attention everyone ????
Your nominees for the 2023 Player of the Year (MEN) award. ???? #CAFAwards2023 pic.twitter.com/nMj2gsC0NZ
— CAF (@CAF_Online) November 1, 2023
The 24-year-old, who finished as the highest goalscorer in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying rounds with ten goals, helped Nigeria finish top of Group A and book their place at next year’s tournament.
Osimhen scored 31 goals and provided five assists in all competitions for Napoli last season, including 26 goals in the Italian top flight to win the Capocannoniere award as the league’s top scorer.
The nomination comes a couple of days after the forward made history as the highest-ranked Nigerian in the history of the Ballon d’Or awards when he finished in the eighth spot.
The former Lille and Wolfsburg man is expected to fight off competition from 29 other big names in African football, including 2016 winner and Algeria’s captain Riyad Mahrez and two-time winner of the award, Sadio Mane.
FULL LIST OF NOMINEES
Ramy Bensebaini (Algeria); Riyad Mahrez (Algeria); Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso); Frank Anguissa (Cameroon); Vincent Aboubakar (Cameroon); Ibrahim Sangare (Cote d’Ivoire); Seko Fofana (Cote d’Ivoire); Chancel Mbemba (DR Congo); Fiston Mayele (DR Congo); Mahmoud Abdel Moneim (Egypt); Mohamed Abdelmonem (Egypt); Mohammed El Shenawy (Egypt); Mohamed Salah (Egypt); Mohammed Kudus (Ghana); Thomas Partey (Ghana); Serhou Guirassy (Guinea); Yves Bissouma (Mali); Achraf Hakimi (Morocco); Azzedine Ounahi (Morocco); Hakim Ziyech (Morocco); Sofyan Amrabat (Morocco); Yahya Jabrane (Morocco); Yassine Bono (Morocco); Youssef En-Neysri (Morocco); Peter Shalulile (Namibia); Victor Osimhen (Nigeria); Sadio Mane (Senegal); Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal); Percy Tau (South Africa); Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane (Tunisia)
