12th October, 2015
The nomination of two Nigerian internationals for 2015 African Player of the Year Award has been hailed by Nigerians.
A cross-section of Nigerians applauded the nomination, with the majority hoping that one of the nominees will emerge the continents’ number one player at the Awards night.
Lille of France Goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama and Ahmed Musa of CSKA Moscow made the 37-man list released by the Confederation of African Football on Sunday in Cairo.
“It’s a good development, hoping that the players will make it to the last three and one of them will pick the award after no Nigerian has won the award in many years,” said Dr. Rafiu Ladipo, President General of Nigeria Football Supporters Club.
Also commenting on the list, ex-international, Mr. Segun Odegbami stated that Nigerian players need to work harder in order to have more of them on the list next year, adding that the nomination of two players is good but we need to have more of them on the list in order to be sure of making it to the top three.
“Our players should work hard and play major roles in their clubs so that we can have more Nigerians on the list and hopefully win the Award next year,” Odegbami added.
Also speaking on the list, The Group Sports Editor of The Nation Newspapers, Mr. Ade Ojeikere said, “It’s good but we need more Nigerians on the list in future to boost our chances.”
Ojeikere encouraged Nigerian players to work towards picking the awards again soon to make the country proud.
Other notable names in the list are reigning African Footballer of the Year, Yaya Toure of Manchester City and Cote D’Ivoire, Borrusia Dortmund and Gabon’s Pierre-Memerick Aubameyang and Yacine Brahimi of Algeria and FC Porto.
The list is prepared through a vigorous selection process by the Technical, Football and Media Committees of CAF, taking into account the performance of the players for their national teams and clubs from January to November of each year.
The ultimate winner of the award will be decided by votes from the Head Coaches or the Technical Directors of the National Associations affiliated to CAF.
The annual award, sponsored by Nigerian telecommunication giant, Globacom is expected to congregate top football celebrities and government officials across Africa.