CAF Award: Oshoala may win a sixth but it’s tough for Osimhen with Hakimi being another top contender

Morocco’s  Archraf Hakimi who had a good tournament at the 2022 FIFA World Cup seems to be the only obstacle to Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen winning the African Footballer of the Year Award on Monday.

Based on recent performances Egypt's Mohammed Salah is an outsider.

Nigeria has four nominees this year, Osimhen (Player of The Year; Men), Super Falcons trio Asisat Oshoala (Player of The Year; Women), goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie (Goalkeeper of The Year; Women) and young midfielder Deborah Abiodun (Young Player of The Year, Women) are eying four of the biggest prizes at the 2023 edition of the Confederation of African Football Awards in Marrakech, Morocco.

With five women’s Player of The Year Awards in the bag, Barcelona Feminine forward Oshoala is seeking a record-extending sixth title in the women’s category and leads the way for the three other Falcons who are hoping to win their categories for the first time.

Largely, Oshoala, Nnadozie, and Abiodun had a tournament to remember at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, where the Falcons reached the round of 16. The trio also had season-defining moments for their various clubs in the period under review (December 2022 to November 2023).

The only man in the mix, Osimhen, however, attracts the biggest attention and that is not unconnected to his form and the seeming stiff competition he faces from the two-time winner, Liverpool man from Egypt Mohamed Salah, as well as Morocco’s PSG star, Archraf Hakimi, in the period under review (November 2022 to September 2023).

Scoring 26 goals to help Napoli win the Italian Serie A for the first time in 33 years, emerging top scorer in the league last season and also firing Nigeria to the next Afcon in Cote d’ Ivorie should be enough credentials to stake a claim as the best player on the continent. But missing out on the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where Hakimi and Morocco shocked the world to reach the semi-finals, the first by an African side, could hinder Osimhen’s chances, some analysts opined.

At club level, Hakimi also won the Ligue 1 with PSG, and the 25-year-old defender scored five goals plus four assists in 28 appearances.

However, some feel Sallah isn’t much of a threat because he didn’t have any piece of silverware to show for his 19 goals and 12 assists in the English Premier League last season.

To an extent, the personalities of Osimhen, Hakimi, and Sallah will also compete in terms of appeal to the CAF panelists and everyone who will have a vote in the decision and that’s where it becomes difficult to think it would be a walk-in the park for any of the trio

Hakimi and Morocco’s World Cup feat, however, appeals to logic, as much as Osimhen’s performance, even among Nigerians.

Osimhen was the highest-ranked African player in the last Ballon d’Or award ceremony and that is another logic that gives him the advantage.

.Beyond Osimhen, Oshoala, Nnadozie, and Abiodun, who are Nigeria’s global stars of women’s football, the real idea of doing it again with the CAF Awards also lies in what happens on the domestic scene.

If Osimhen wins the men’s award for the first time in 24 years, since Kanu won it in 1999, Oshoala wins a record-extending sixth women’s crown, Nnadozie stays undisputed as the goalkeeper of the year and Abiodun also brings the young player gong home.