Victor Osimhen has been nominated for the 2023 Confederation of African Football (CAF) men’s player of the year award. He is the only Nigerian who made the 30-player list announced on the CAF website on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old will battle Mohamed Salah of Egypt, Sadio Mane of Senegal and Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez for the most coveted individual prize for male footballers on the continent.
Other notable nominees include Vincent Aboubacar, Edouard Mendy, Achraf Hakimi, Thomas Partey and Mohammed Kudus.
Osimhen had a brilliant 2022/23 season where he led Napoli to the Serie A title last season — the club’s first in 33 years.
The Eagles striker scored 25 league goals to become the league’s highest goal scorer, setting the record as the first African footballer to achieve the feat. He also led Nigeria to AFCON 2024 qualification, and he was the top goal scorer in the series with 10 goals.
On Monday, he was named the eighth best male footballer in the world at the Ballon d’Or ceremony. The Nigerian finished higher than any other Africans on the list.
Osimhen also became the first Nigerian to be named in the top ten of the Ballon d’Or. Nigeria’s Gift Orban was nominated in the CAF men’s Young Player of the Year category.
The 21-year-old was in blistering form for KAA Gent in the Belgian Pro League last season. He scored 20 goals in all competitions for the club and earned himself a Super Eagles call-up.
However, Orban remains uncapped for the Eagles. The 2023 CAF awards show will be held on December 11 in Marrakech, Morocco.
