Ademola Lookman wins 2024 CAF African Player of the Year Award

Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman has been named the 2024 African Player of the Year at the CAF Awards, following an outstanding year for both club and country.

The 27-year-old beat out strong competition from Achraf Hakimi (Morocco), Simon Adingra (Ivory Coast), Ronwen Williams (South Africa), and Serhou Guirassy (Guinea) to claim the prestigious award.

Lookman’s stellar performances included key contributions in Nigeria’s 2023 AFCON campaign, where he scored three goals to help the team reach the final in Ivory Coast.

He also shone in the UEFA Europa League final, netting a hat-trick as Atalanta triumphed 3-0 over Bayer Leverkusen, making history as the first Italian club to win the competition.

With 17 goals and nine assists in the 2023/24 season, Lookman continued his impressive form into the current campaign, with 11 goals and five assists in 19 appearances so far this season.

In other categories, Zambia’s Barbra Banda claimed the Women’s African Player of the Year award after an exceptional year with Orlando Pride, scoring 17 goals and contributing seven assists. This victory ended Asisat Oshoala’s three-year reign.

Nigeria’s Super Falcons were named Women’s National Team of the Year, while Ivory Coast took home the Men’s National Team of the Year award. In the Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year category, Chiamaka Nnadozie of Nigeria claimed the honor for the second consecutive year.