Nigeria’s men’s team, the Super Eagles, have been nominated for the much-coveted National Team of the Year award at the 2024 CAF Awards, Afrosport reports.
The three-time African champions have witnessed consistent progress within the year under review, which also led to their rise in the latest world rankings released by FIFA on Thursday.
The Super Eagles defied all odds at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Ivory Coast) as they got to the final, where they eventually lost 2-1 to hosts Ivory Coast in a keenly contested battle.
The team has also put on a good showing in the qualification rounds for AFCON 2025, where they currently top Group D despite playing one game less than the next two teams hot on their heels.
Nigeria’s success over the last year has been backed up by some of its players receiving nominations for the 2024 CAF Awards.
The duo of Ademola Lookman and William Troost-Ekong are both contenders for the 2024 CAF Men’s Player of the Year award, while goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali got the nod as one of the nominees for the Goalkeeper of the Year award.
The Super Eagles, however, will need to fend off competition from other nations like Angola, Burkina Faso, DR Congo, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda, and reigning African champions Ivory Coast.
𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 (𝗠𝗲𝗻) – 𝗡𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝘀#CAFAwards2024 pic.twitter.com/N7fT5yexO9
— CAF_Online (@CAF_Online) October 24, 2024
Full list of nominees for National Team of the Year Award
Nigeria
Angola
Burkina Faso
DR Congo
Morocco
Mozambique
South Africa
Sudan
Uganda
Ivory Coast
Other Categories Include…
Men’s Coach of the Year
Pedro Gonçalves (Angola)
Brahima Traore (Burkina Faso)
Emerse Faé (Côte d’Ivoire)
José Gomes (Zamalek)
Marcel Koller (Al Ahly)
Chiquinho (Mozambique)
Hugo Broos (South Africa)
Florent Ibenge (Al Hilal)
Kwesi Appiah (Sudan)
Men’s Young Player of the Year
Carlos Baleba
Karim Konaté
Oumar Diakite
Yankuba Minteh
Abdul Aziz Issah
Bilal El Khannouss
Eliesse Ben Seghir
El Hadji Malick Diouf
Lamine Camara
Amanallah Memmiche
Men’s Interclub Player of the Year
Oussama Benbot
Issoufou Dayo
Ahmed Sayed ‘Zizo’
Hussein El Shahat
Mostafa Shobeir
Abdul Aziz Issah
John Antwi
Amanallah Memmiche
Yassine Meriah
Ronwen Williams
Men’s club of the Year
Petro Luanda
TP Mazembe
Al Ahly
Zamalek
Dreams FC
RS Berkane
Mamelodi Sundowns
Simba SC
Yanga
Esperance de Tunis
