Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen has been nominated for the Men Player of the Year category in the 2023 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Awards.
In a statement released by CAF on Wednesday, the Napoli forward was nominated along with Rihad Mahrez of Algeria, Vincent Aboubakar of Cameroon, PSG’s Achrif Hakimi, and Arsenal’s Thomas Partey, among others.
Osimhen, who scored 26 goals for Napoli in the 2022–2023 season, helped the Naples-based team win the Scudetto for the first time since Diego Maradona inspired them to the league title back in 1990.
The Napoli talisman is currently the highest-scoring African in Serie A after breaking George Weah’s record of 46 goals.
The Nigerian international, who is billed by many as a favourite to win the 2023 CAF Player of the Year award, made history as the first Napoli player and Nigerian international to make the top 10 of the Ballon d’Or rankings.
The Super Eagles and Napoli striker is the No. 8 best football player in the world on the 2023 Ballon d’Or list.
The Nigeria international significantly contributed to Napoli’s first Serie A title in 33 years, becoming the 2022–23 top scorer in the league with 26 goals in 32 appearances. Napoli also reached the Champions League quarterfinals last season, the best result for the Partenopei in Europe’s elite competition.
A statement by CAF on Wednesday read, “A panel of CAF Technical Experts, African Football Legends, and selected media representatives from a number of countries put together the preliminary list for the various categories, with the performance of the nominees between November 2022 and September 2023 serving as the period under consideration.”
The CAF Awards 2023 are scheduled for December 11, 2023, in Marrakech, Morocco.
