Nigeria is vying for seven awards this year, with Lookman facing tough competition for the Men's Player of the Year.
Ahead of the CAF awards ceremony in Marrakesh, Morocco, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has publicly endorsed Ademola Lookman and Chiamaka Nnadozie for the CAF Player of the Year awards in their respective categories.
Nigeria is in contention for seven awards at this year's event. Lookman faces stiff competition for the Men's Player of the Year award from Ivory Coast's Simon Adingra, PSG's Achraf Hakimi, Guinea's Serhou Guirassy, and South Africa's Ronwen Williams.
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The NFF, however, has strongly championed Lookman's candidacy. In a statement titled "2024 CAF Awards: Lookman is the man, whichever way you look at it!," NFF spokesperson Ademola Olajire argued that Lookman's achievements surpass those of his fellow nominees.
Olajire specifically mentioned Adingra, stating that while he had a strong second half in the AFCON final against Nigeria, his record with Brighton in the English Premier League doesn't compare to Lookman's.
“All things being equal, Nigeria’s Ademola Lookman should be crowned the African Player of The Year at Monday evening’s 2024 CAF Awards at the Palais des Congrés in the Moroccan city of Marrakech.
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“None of the four other final nominees comes close. Ivorian Simon Adingra, whose remarkable second-half performance saw the Elephants overcome Nigeria in the AFCON Final in Abidjan on February 11, cannot point to such a glittering record with English Premier League club, Brighton,” NFF’s spokesperson, Ademola Olajire wrote.
Nnadozie is nominated for two awards, Women's Player of the Year and Women's Goalkeeper of the Year. She competes for the Player of the Year award against Morocco's Sanaa Mssoudy and Zambia's Babra Banda.
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The Paris FC shot-stopper is also a strong contender to win the Goalkeeper of the Year award for the second consecutive time.
If both Lookman and Nnadozie win their respective Player of the Year awards, it will mark the third time Nigeria has achieved this double, following Nwankwo Kanu and Mercy Akide-Udoh in 1999, and Victor Osimhen and Asisat Oshoala in 2023.