Nigerian Ademola Lookman was crowned “African Player of the Year” during the CAF Awards-2024 ceremony, succeeding his compatriot Victor Osimhen. National women’s football also stood out with several awards won.
Moroccans will only have the memories of the last Ballon d’Or awarded to Mustapha Hadji in 1998 after the trio Ahmed Faras (1975), Baddou Zaki (1979) and Mohamed Timoumi (1986) to console themselves. While they were almost convinced that the title would be awarded this year to Achraf Hakimi, the votes were in favor of Ademola Lookman.
This Nigerian, the Zambian Barbra Banda and the South African Ronwen Williams were the main winners at the CAF Awards 2024 ceremony, which was held on Monday in Marrakech. The prestigious event rewarded the best African performers of the year.
The ceremony brought together football personalities, from across the African continent and beyond, to celebrate the growth and development of the game in Africa, as well as the progress made in men’s and women’s football in recent years.
Lookman was named African Player of the Year after an exceptional year with Atalanta (Italy) and the Super Eagles. He succeeds his compatriot Victor Osimhen, winner in 2023. This is the first time that Nigeria has won this prize two years in a row since Nwankwo Kanu (1996) and Victor Ikpeba (1997). As for Banda, she marked the 2024 National Women’s Soccer League season by helping the Orlando Pride win the NWSL Shield and the championship, with a decisive goal in the final against Washington Spirit. She scored her third hat-trick at the Paris 2024 Olympics, an all-time record, and became the first African player included in the FIFA/FIFPRO Women’s World XI in 2024.
As for Ronwen Williams, he was the only double winner of the night, receiving the Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year and Men’s Interclub Player of the Year awards. His spectacular penalty saves at the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2023 in Ivory Coast will long be remembered, including four saves in the quarter-final penalty shootout victory over Cape Verde as he captained South Africa to the bronze medal.
The 32-year-old helped his club, Mamelodi Sundowns, set a record of just 11 goals conceded in 30 games in the South African league, while winning a seventh consecutive domestic league title.
If Achraf Hakimi was unable to collect the prize, the national representation was saved by the illustration of the Moroccan players. Indeed, AS FAR center forward and Moroccan international Sanaâ Mssoudy won the Interclub Player of the Year award after winning the Best Player award in the 2024 CAF Women’s Champions League.
Doha El Madani, a member of the same club, won the title of Young Player of the Year. The 19-year-old striker clinched the Golden Boot in the 2024 CAF Women’s Champions League with six goals in five matches.
For her part, Moroccan Lamia Boumehdi, winner of the Champions League with TP Mazembe of DR Congo, won the coach of the year prize for women’s football. Boumehdi wrote her name in golden letters in the history of African football by becoming the first woman to lift this African trophy. She also led TP Mazembe to the national title in 2024.
In line with CAF President Patrice Motsepe’s commitment to rewarding all stakeholders in the game, referees were also honored at the CAF Awards 2024. Mutaz Ibrahim of Libya was named Men’s Referee of the Year, while that Moroccan Bouchra Karboubi was named Women’s Referee of the Year.
Furthermore, the Moroccans Achraf Hakimi and Sofyan Amrabet appear in the men’s XI of the year, while Ghizlane Chebbak made a place in the women’s XI.
