On Monday evening, the red carpet was rolled out at the Palais des Congres in Marrakech. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) hosted its awards and named Ademola Lookman as its footballer of the year.
Ademola Lookman was the obvious choice, the favorite – and is now also Africa’s footballer of the year. The 27-year-old was a key figure in Nigeria’s run to the Africa Cup final (1-2 against Ivory Coast). He scored twice to lead the Super Eagles past Cameroon 2-0 in the Round of 16 and was also the decisive man in the last eight, scoring the only goal against Angola in the second leg (1-0).
But the Africa Cup was not even the striker’s biggest highlight of last season. That was undoubtedly his hat-trick in the 3-0 win over Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the Europa League final, which also marked the end of Bayer’s incredible run of 51 matches without defeat. It was an unforgettable evening not only for Lookman, but also for the people of Bergamo, who will remember it as the day their club won their first-ever international title.
Lookmann is the first African player to score a hat-trick in a European Cup final. Unsurprisingly, the 27-year-old was also named in the Europa League Team of the Year, and he was also named Player of the Year in Bergamo thanks to his 17 competitive goals and ten assists. And the striker is continuing his impressive form in the current season: three goals in the Champions League and eight goals in the Serie A.
“This award is a blessing, to be recognized as the best player in Africa is incredible,” said Lookman, who also shared a piece of wisdom: ‘Don’t let your defeats stop your dreams.’
Guirassy and Hakimi in the places
Lookman beat off competition from Dortmund’s Serghou Guirassy (Guinea) and Paris St Germain’s Achraf Hakimi (Morocco/ Paris St. Germain), who were among the last three candidates. It was not disclosed who came in second and third, as goalkeeper Ronwen Williams (South Africa/Mamelodi Sundowns) and winger Simon Adingra (Ivory Coast/Brighton & Hove Albion) were knocked out earlier.
Prominent names such as last year’s winner Victor Osimhen (Nigeria/Galatasaray Istanbul), Leverkusen’s Victor Boniface (Nigeria) or Liverpool’s Egyptian Mo Salah were not nominated.
Banda is Africa’s female footballer of the year
Barbra Banda from Zambia was named African Footballer of the Year. The 24-year-old won the NWSL Championship with Orlando Pride – among other things, she scored the winning goal in the final of the US championship against Washington Spirit. The award is likely to mean something very special to Banda, given that there was a lot of controversy surrounding her in 2022 due to high testosterone levels.
From 1970 to 1994, the French sports magazine L’Equipe presented the title African Footballer of the Year, and since 1992 the African Football Confederation has also named a Footballer of the Year. So far, every winner of the award at the time of his victory has earned his money in Europe. This is also the case this time. The record title holders with four awards each are the Cameroonian Samuel Eto’o and the Ivorian Yaya Touré.
