November 1, (THEWILL) – Nigerian striker, Victor Osimhen, has been nominated for the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) Men’s Player of the Year award for 2023. The 24-year-old is up against stiff competition that includes Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, Arsenal’s Thomas Partey, Manchester United’s Sofyan Amrabat and Tottenham Hotspur duo Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr.
Osimhen enjoyed a stellar year with Italian club Napoli, helping them win Serie A last season and reach the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League. His goalscoring exploits have made him one of the most feared strikers in European football. He was nominated for the 2022 Ballon d’Or, finishing 8th overall – the highest of any African player.
Osimhen’s nomination comes after an outstanding individual year. As well as his club achievements, he has carried the same goal-scoring drive to the Super Eagles to see Nigeria through to next year’s African Cup of Nations. If he wins, Osimhen will become the first Nigerian recipient of the award since Nwankwo Kanu in 1999.
Osimhen also faces competition from English Premier League stars including Nottingham Forest’s Ibrahima Sangare and West Ham United’s Mohammed Kudus. However, after his goal-laden year, he is considered one of the frontrunners for the CAF prize.
Previous Nigerian winners of the prestigious CAF Men’s Player of the Year award include Rashidi Yekini (1993), Emmanuel Amunike (1994) and Victor Ikpeba (1997). Osimhen will be hoping to add his name to this illustrious list when the winner is announced later this year.
The nominees include:
1. Victor Osimhen (Nigeria and SSC Napoli)
2. Riyad Mahrez (Algeria and Al Ahli)
3. Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso and Bayer Leverkusen)
4. Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa (Cameroon and SSC Napoli)
5. Vincent Aboubacar (Cameroon and Besiktas)
6. Ibrahima Sangare (Cote d’Ivoire and Nottingham Forest)
7. Seko Fofana (Cote d’Ivoire and Al Nassr)
8. Chancel Mbemba (DR Congo and Olympique Marseille)
9. Fiston Mayele (DR Congo and Pyramids)
10. Mahmoud Abdel Moneim “Kahraba” (Egypt and Ahly)
11. Mohamed Abdelmonem (Egypt and Al Ahly)
12. Mohamed ElShenawy (Egypt and Al Ahly)
13. Mohamed Salah (Egypt and Liverpool)
14. Mohammed Kudus (Ghana and West Ham United)
15. Thomas Partey (Ghana and Arsenal)
16. Serhou Guirassy (Guinea and VfB Stuttgart)
17. Yves Bissouma (Mali and Tottenham Hotspur)
18. Achraf Hakimi (Morocco and Paris Saint-Germain)
19. Azzedine Ounahi (Morocco and Olympique Marseille)
20. Hakim Ziyech (Morocco and Galatasaray)
21. Sofyan Amrabat (Morocco and Manchester United)
22. Yahya Jabrane (Morocco and Wydad Athletic Club)
23. Yassine Bounou (Morocco and Al Hilal)
24. Youssef En-Nesyri (Morocco and Sevilla)
25. Peter Shalulile (Namibia and Mamelodi Sundowns)
26. Ramy Bensebaini (Algeria and Borussia Dortmund)
27. Sadio Mane (Senegal and Al Nassr)
28. Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal and Tottenham Hotspur)
29. Percy Tau (South Africa and Al Ahly)
30. Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane (Tunisia and Ferencvaros)
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
