CAF Awards 2024: Sébastien Haller snubs Lookman, picks Adingra for Player of the Year

By Monsurah Olatunji

Sébastien Haller has surprised many by snubbing Ademola Lookman as the favorite for the 2024 African Footballer of the Year Award, instead backing his teammate Simon Adingra for the prestigious honor.

Haller, who was part of the victorious Ivory Coast team at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), praised Adingra’s performances throughout the tournament, despite acknowledging that Lookman and Serhou Guirassy had stronger seasons at the club level.

While Lookman has been a standout player for Atalanta, helping them secure their first-ever European title with a historic hat-trick in the Europa League final, and playing a key role in Nigeria’s journey to the AFCON final, Haller believes Adingra’s AFCON success should be the deciding factor.

In an interview with SportyTV, Haller explained, “I don’t know how they are going to vote, I don’t know how they are going to decide. There are many aspects that make this decision difficult because some of them, like Guirassy, scored a lot of goals with his European club. Unfortunately, in his country, it was a bit more tough.”

While he acknowledged Lookman’s impressive season with Atalanta and his standout performances for Nigeria in the AFCON, Haller ultimately backed Adingra, saying, “If I have to choose someone, it will be him.

“I will be more than happy for him. I spent some time with him during the AFCON because we were both injured when we arrived. He delivered when he came on in the AFCON and went back with the title.”

Haller conceded that choosing between the top contenders is difficult, especially given Lookman and Guirassy’s strong individual seasons.

However, his loyalty to Adingra and his pivotal role in securing the AFCON title for Ivory Coast made him the player Haller feels deserves the award.

“It will be tough. Let’s see what they think and what is the most important for them. I will follow it and hopefully, an Ivorian guy will get the trophy,” Haller concluded.

With the CAF Player of the Year Award ceremony just around the corner, the race for the title remains fiercely competitive, with Haller’s endorsement of Adingra adding another layer of intrigue to the final outcome.

Samuel Ahmadu

Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He began his career at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.

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