\n
Nigeria\u2019s Victor Osimhen has been named the 2023 African Footballer of the Year at an awards ceremony in Marrakesh.<\/p>\n
The 24-year-old Napoli striker fended off competition from Egypt\u2019s Mohamed Salah and Morocco\u2019s Achraf Hakimi to claim the prestigious accolade.<\/p>\n
Osimhem was understandably delighted after becoming the first Nigerian to triumph since ex-Arsenal marksman Nwankwo Kanu in 1999.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cIt is a dream come true.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI have to thank everybody who has helped me on this journey and all Africans who have helped to put me on the map despite my faults.\u201d<\/p>\n
Osimhen scored 26 Serie A goals last term to inspire Napoli to their first Scudetto win in 33 years, with his all-action performances under Luciano Spalletti\u2019s leadership seeing him named the Serie A Player of the Season.<\/p>\n
The Lagos native also became the first Nigerian to finish in the top 10 of the Ballon d\u2019Or with an impressive eighth-place finish in this year\u2019s voting.<\/p>\n
Osimhen has been productive for his country in 2023 too, scoring five goals in four Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers \u2014 and the striker will be desperate to lead Nigeria to glory at the tournament, which starts on January 13.<\/p>\n
Oshoala triumphs again<\/h2>\n
Barcelona star Asisat Oshoala made it a night to remember for Nigeria as she retained the women\u2019s award.<\/p>\n
Incredibly, it is the sixth time she has won the prize, with the 29-year-old forward scoring five goals in nine Women\u2019s Champions League games last season as the Catalan\u2019s lifted the trophy.<\/p>\n
Morocco won the best National Team of the Year after their success in last winter\u2019s World Cup in Qatar, where they became the first African team to reach the semi-finals.<\/p>\n
The winners are voted for by a panel of Confederation of African Football technical committees and African media professionals, head coaches and captains.<\/p>\n
<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nigeria\u2019s Victor Osimhen has been named the 2023 African Footballer of the Year at an awards ceremony in Marrakesh. The 24-year-old Napoli striker fended off competition from Egypt\u2019s Mohamed Salah and Morocco\u2019s Achraf Hakimi to claim the prestigious accolade. Osimhem was understandably delighted after becoming the first Nigerian to triumph since ex-Arsenal marksman Nwankwo Kanu […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":130316,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n
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