Newly-crowned African Footballer of the Year, Victor Osimhen has been named in the final shortlist for the 2023 Globe Soccer Award.
Osimhen is joined in the final cut by his compatriot and sixth-time African Women Footballer of the Year, Asisat Oshoala who is in the running for the Best Women’s Player in the Globe Soccer Award.
The Nigerian duo were honoured as the best players on the African continent on Monday as a result of their stellar performances for their clubs and Nigeria in the year 2023.
Osimhen helped Napoli win the Italian Serie A in the 2022-23 season with his impressive return of 26 goals in 32 games that made him the league’s top scorer and he also powered Nigeria to qualify for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations after finishing as top scorer in the qualification campaign with 10 goals.
The 24-yer-old Super Eagles striker is up against Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham, Karim Benzema and Mohamed Salah in the 11-man final list.
Others are Kylian Mbappe, Bernardo Silva Kevin De Bruyne and Vinicius Jr.
Oshoala, on her part, made the final 10-woman list after inspiring Barcelona to success in the Primera Division Femenina and the UEFA Women’s Champions League with a tally of 26 goals in 37 matches in the competitions.
She also played a crucial role in leading the Super Falcons to the round of 16 stage of the FIFA Women’s World Cup where she scored a goal in four matches in Australia/New Zealand.
