Too Close to Call as Lookman, Four Others in Final Shortlist

*Falcons goalkeeper, Nnadozie, makes final three list in women’s category

Duro Ikhazuagbe 

This year’s CAF Player of the Year in the men’s category has gone down to the wire as the organisers of the annual event have admitted that the voting patterns in the 2024 edition “is too close to call.”

CAF admitted last night that all the five shortlists in that category will go into the final out of which the winner will be announced on Monday evening at the CAF Awards ceremony scheduled to hold at 18:00GMT at the Palais des Congres in the Moroccan capital.

Nigeria’s Ademola Lookman is the favorite to win the coveted gong with Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi, Simon Adingra (Cote d’Ivoire), Ronwen Williams (South Africa) and Serhou Guirassy (Guinea) all in the race to replace Victor Osimhen as Africa’s best player of 2024.

While sports journalists were expecting the continental body to announce the final three shortlist, CAF’s Head of Content, Ibrahim Sannie Daara, confirmed in a terse statement that there was going to be a rerun as all five nominees will enter the race in the final stage.

“There’s a big tie and that’s why all the nominees will now go to the final,” Daara announced last night. 

For the women’s category, Super Falcons goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie, Barbara Banda (Zambia) and Sanaa Mssoudy (Morocco) made the final nominees.

The voting for the CAF Awards is done by journalists, national team coaches and captains as well as members of the CAF technical committee.

THE FIVE FINALISTS

*Ademola Lookman (Nigeria) 

Club: Atalanta, Italy

Twenty-seven year-old Lookman has carried his terrific form from last season into the 2024/2025 season. He almost singlehandedly handed the UEFA Europa League trophy to his Italian Serie A side, Atalanta for the first time in 61 years as he scored all three goals in the final of the Europe’s second-tier club competition against Bayer Leverkusen. His contribution to Super Eagles also helped Nigeria to finish as runners up to host Côte d’Ivoire in AFCON 2023 last February in Abidjan. The Nigerian star has scored 11 goals and bagged five assists in 18 appearances in all competitions so far this season.

*Achraf Hakimi (Morocco)

Club: Paris Saint-Germain, France

Twenty-six year-old Hakimi stunned all aficionados of the beautiful game when as a right back helped PSG to win the Coupe de France final over Lyon in May as well as powered the Atlas Lions to a bronze medal at the Paris Olympic Games last August in France.

*Ronwen Williams (South Africa)

Club: Mamelodi Sundowns, South Africa

Thirty-two year-old goalkeeper shot into continental reckoning at the last AFCON in Côte d’Ivoire when he spectacularly  saved penalty kicks. His heroics powered the Bafana Bafana to the bronze medal at AFCON 2023.

He also helped South Africa qualified for Africa Cup of Nations  2025 and was a nominee for FIFA’s Yashin Trophy for best goalkeeper in 2024. He also helped his club, Mamelodi Sundowns, set a joint record low of 11 goals conceded in 30 games in the South African Premiership as The Brazilians won their seventh domestic league title in succession.

*Simon Adingra (Côte d’Ivoire)

Club: Brighton & Hove Albion, England

Twenty-two year-old Adingra was a key figure for Cote d’Ivoire in their rollercoaster run to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations title on home soil in February. He scored a 90th minute equaliser in an extra-time victory against Mali in the quarter-finals and provided two assists in the final against Nigeria as The Elephants put behind them a difficult start to the campaign to lift the trophy. He was named Best Young Player at the tournament.

*Serhou Guirassy (Guinea)

Club: Borussia Dortmund, Germany

Twenty-eight year-old striker Guirassy scored a remarkable 30 goals in as many games for German Bundesliga side Stuttgart in the 2023-24 season and has carried on that form following a move to Borussia Dortmund for the new campaign. His tally of 28 Bundesliga goals in the season beat Stuttgart’s previous record of 25, set by Mario Gómez in the 2008-09. Only Bayern Munich forward Harry Kane managed more goals than Guirassy in the campaign.

He scored 23 goals for club and country in the period under review (January-October 2024