Nigerian forward Victor Osimhen has been nominated for the Men Player of the Year category in the upcoming 2023 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Awards. Osimhen's nomination was reportedly disclosed in a statement released by CAF's organizing body via its official website.
The statement reads, “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 Napoli forward was nominated along with Riyad Mahrez (Algeria), Vincent Aboubakar (Cameroon), Achrif Hakimi (Morocco), and Thomas Partey (Ghana) among other nominees.
Osimhen scored 26 goals for Napoli in the 2022-2023 season and helped the Naples-based team win their first Scudetto title since Diego Maradona's era back in 1990.
He 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 favorite 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.
Moreover, the player is the No. 8 best player in the World on the recently concluded 2023 Ballon d'Or list.
The 2023 CAF Awards gala is scheduled to be held on 11 December 2023.
