Soccer Football - Serie A - Napoli v Atalanta - Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Naples, Italy - November 3, 2024 Atalanta's Ademola Lookman celebrates scoring their second goal REUTERS/Ciro De Luca/ File Photo
CAIRO (Reuters) - Nigerian attacker Ademola Lookman leads the list of five candidates for this year’s African Footballer of the Year award, which were revealed by the Confederation of African Football on Monday.
The London-born Nigerian international scored a hat-trick in the Europa League final for his Italian club Atalanta and was a leading light for Nigeria as they reached this year’s Africa Cup of Nations final, making him a favourite for the award.
He will be up against Morocco fullback Achraf Hakimi, who won Ligue 1 with Paris St Germain, and Guinea striker Serhou Guirassy, who scored 28 Bundesliga goals for VfB Stuttgart last season and earned himself a transfer to Borussia Dortmund.
Simon Adingra from English club Brighton & Hove Albion, who was a fan favourites as the Ivory Coast won the Cup of Nations at the start of the year, and South Africa goalkeeper Ronwen Williams are the other two candidates, CAF said.
The coaches of each of Africa’s 54 countries, along with an expert panel rues, vote for the award, which will be handed out at a ceremony in Marrakech, Morocco on Dec. 16.
(Reporting by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Pritha Sarkar)
