Victor Osimhen is a firm favourite to win the 2023 African Footballer of the Year award, breaking a 24-year-old jinx.
Osimhen had a stellar 2022–2023 season with Napoli, guiding them to their first Serie A title triumph in 33 years.
He was also ranked number 8 in the 2023 Ballon d’Or Award, which was held in Paris, France, and became the first Nigerian to make the top ten of the prestigious award.
The 24-year-old is the highest African goal scorer in Serie A and currently holds the record for the most goals scored by an African in a single season.
Nigeria’s last recipient of the award was Nwankwo Kanu, 24 years ago.
Kanu scored 17 times in 50 matches for Arsenal, including a famous hat-trick in 15 minutes against Chelsea in October 1999 to turn a 2–0 deficit into a 3–2 victory.
He, however, failed to make an appearance for the Super Eagles that year.
Mikel John Obi came close to clinching the title in 2013 but had to settle for second place behind Yaya Toure of Ivory Coast.
Hoping to thwart Osimhen’s quest is Liverpool’s Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah, who is in line for a third African Player of the Year Award after being named on the shortlist by the Confederation of African Football last Thursday.
The 31-year-old won consecutive awards in 2017 and 2018.
Salah was runner-up last year to Senegal striker Sadio Mane, who missed out this time round following his move from Bayern Munich to Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia.
The likes of Osimhen and Salah will be up against Paris Saint-Germain defender Achraf Hakimi, who was part of the inspirational Moroccan side that became the first African team to progress to the World Cup semi-finals.
He scored the winning penalty with a panenka-style shot in a shoot-out against Spain in the round of 16, securing a place for his country in the quarterfinals.
The winners for different categories in the CAF 2023 Awards will be announced tonight in Marrakech, Morocco.
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