Nigeria international, Ademola Lookman, has been shortlisted for the 2024 CAF Men’s Player of the Year award.
This was announced on the official website of the Confederation of African Football on Thursday.
Lookman, who plays for Atalanta, is the only Nigerian among the five nominees for this prestigious award.
The winner will be crowned during a ceremony in Marrakech, Morocco, on Monday, December 16.
The gala will be held at the Palais des Congrès.
The CAF Men’s Player of the Year award has celebrated Africa’s top footballers since its inception in 1970.
The nominees for this year’s award are:
Simon Adingra (Côte d’Ivoire & Brighton & Hove Albion)
Serhou Guirassy (Guinea & Borussia Dortmund)
Achraf Hakimi (Morocco & Paris Saint-Germain)
Ademola Lookman (Nigeria & Atalanta)
Ronwen Williams (South Africa & Mamelodi Sundowns)
The award was first introduced by France Football magazine in 1970, with CAF taking over in 1992.
The inaugural recipient was Salif Keïta of Mali, recognised for his performances with Saint-Étienne in France.
Subsequent winners include notable footballers like Ibrahim Sunday (Ghana, 1971) and Chérif Souleymane (Guinea, 1972). The France Football Award ran until 1994, while CAF’s version began in 1992.
Abedi Pele of Ghana won the CAF award three consecutive times from 1991 to 1993. George Weah of Liberia made history in 1995 as the first (and only) African to win the prestigious Ballon d’Or.
The record for most Men’s Player of the Year titles is held jointly by Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon) and Yaya Touré (Côte d’Ivoire), each with four titles. Touré remains the only player to win it four years in a row (2011-2014).
Among active players, Mohamed Salah of Egypt and Sadio Mané of Senegal have each won the award twice.
Past CAF Men’s Player of the Year winners are:
1992: Abedi Pele (Ghana)
1993: Rashidi Yekini (Nigeria)
1994: Emmanuel Amunike (Nigeria)
1995: George Weah (Liberia)
1996: Nwankwo Kanu (Nigeria)
1997: Victor Ikpeba (Nigeria)
1998: Mustapha Hadji (Morocco)
1999: Nwankwo Kanu (Nigeria)
2000: Patrick Mboma (Cameroon)
2001: El Hadji Diouf (Senegal)
2002: El Hadji Diouf (Senegal)
2003: Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon)
2004: Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon)
2005: Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon)
2006: Didier Drogba (Côte d’Ivoire)
2007: Frédéric Kanouté (Mali)
2008: Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo)
2009: Didier Drogba (Côte d’Ivoire)
2010: Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon)
2011: Yaya Touré (Côte d’Ivoire)
2012: Yaya Touré (Côte d’Ivoire)
2013: Yaya Touré (Côte d’Ivoire)
2014: Yaya Touré (Côte d’Ivoire)
2015: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon)
2016: Riyad Mahrez (Algeria)
2017: Mohamed Salah (Egypt)
2018: Mohamed Salah (Egypt)
2019: Sadio Mané (Senegal)
2020: Awards not held due to COVID-19
2021: Awards not held due to COVID-19
2022: Sadio Mané (Senegal)
2023: Victor Osimhen (Nigeria)
