Osimhen, Mahrez make 30-man ‘Men’s Player of the Year’ shortlist for 2023 CAF Awards
Super Eagles forward Victor Osimhen has been nominated in the ‘Men’s Player of the Year’ category for the 2023 Confederation of African Football Awards, Peoples Gazette can report.
The nominations were announced by CAF on Wednesday and the 24-year-old Napoli striker was included in the 30-man shortlist for Best Men’s Player of the Year category alongside Mohammed Salah, Riyad Mahrez and Sadio Mane.
Members of Morocco’s World Cup history-making squad Hakim Ziyech, Sofyan Ambrabat, Achraf Hakimi, Yassine Bounou were also on the shortlist.
Many football fans and stakeholders especially in Nigeria are optimistic that Osimhen will win the prestigious honour courtesy of his heroic performance for club and country in the year under review.
Osimhen scored 26 goals to win the Serie A top-scorer for the 2022/23 season as Napoli defied all odds to win the Italian league title for the first time in 33 years becoming the first African to achieve the feat.
He also scored 10 goals to finish top-scorer in the 2023 AFCON Qualifiers.
An evidence of his brilliant display was finishing eighth best men’s players in the world at the 2023 Ballon d’Or awards ceremony held in Paris, France on Monday.
Alongside Osimhen, Mahrez is also a strong contender for the award after finishing the 2022/23 campaign as a treble-winner with Manchester City, who won the Premier League title, UEFA Champions League and the FA Cup.
Another Nigerian nominated for a CAF Award was Gent forward Gift Orban. The 21-year-old was nominated for the ‘Young Player of the Year’ alongside Dango Quattara, Pape Diop and seven others
Orban currently hold the record for the fastest hat trick in UEFA Club competitions history. He scored three goals in three minutes and 25 seconds against Istanbul Basaksehir in the Conference League to break the previous six matches and 12 seconds held by Salah.
The 2023 CAF Awards ceremony is scheduled to hold on Monday 11, December in Marrakech, Morocco.
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