Nigeria and Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman has been named the 2024 CAF Men’s Player of the Year, capping off a remarkable season with the continent’s top individual football honour.
Lookman saw off competition from Achraf Hakimi, Simon Adingra, Ronwen Williams, and Serhou Guirassy to claim the award at the ceremony in Marrakech, Morocco on Monday, succeeding compatriot Victor Osimhen as the reigning champion.
Softfootball can confirm this marks the first time since 1996 and 1997 that Nigeria has produced back-to-back winners of the prestigious award.
It has been an extraordinary year for the winger, who helped Nigeria reach the AFCON final before taking his form back to Atalanta and inspiring their run to the Coppa Italia final.
His crowning moment came in the Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen, where he became the first player in history to score a hat-trick in the final of Europe’s second-tier competition.
Lookman’s stellar campaign also earned him a nomination for the 2024 Ballon d’Or, where he finished 14th as the only African nominee. Elsewhere at the ceremony, Zambia’s Barbra Banda was crowned CAF Women’s Player of the Year ahead of Nigeria’s Nnadozie.
