Nigeria’s international footballers, Victor Osimhen and Asisat Oshoala, have made the final three-man list for both men and women categories of the CAF Player of the Year awards.
Osimhen finished as the top scorer in the 2023 African Cup of Nations qualifiers.
The Nigerian will battle Egypt’s Mohammed Salah, Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi, and Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez for the top gong.
Osimhen was also instrumental in Napoli’s Scuddeto success last season, winning the Golden Boot after scoring 26 goals.
On the other hand, Oshoala, the reigning African women’s player of the year, has pitched with South Africa’s Thembi Klagtlana and Zambia’s Barbara Banda for the top prize.
The 28-year-old scored 21 goals in just 28 games to lead FC Barcelona to the 2022/23 Spanish League title and was the Spanish club’s top scorer with 27 goals in all competitions.
Her efforts helped Barcelona retain their domestic title, and they also won the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
At the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, she made history as the first Nigerian and first female African player to score at three different editions of the FIFA World Cup.
In a related development, Nigeria’s Chiamaka Nnadozie and Deborah Abiodun made the final shortlist for the 2023 CAF Awards.
The African football governing body, on Thursday, confirmed the finalists for the CAF awards billed for 11 December 2023 in Marrakech, Morocco.
