FEATURED! Nigeria’s 23 years drought for CAF Player of the Year Award

Senegal’s Sadio Mane simply gained the CAF African Participant of the 12 months Award beating Egypt’s Mohammed Salah and fellow compatriot Edouard Mendy to the celebrated title.

It beckons the query when final did a Nigerian win the celebrated award. Properly it has now been 23 years since a Nigerian gained the CAF African Participant of the 12 months Award. As surprising as that sounds, that’s the fact.

Solely 4 Nigerian gamers have gained the CAF African Participant of the 12 months award, Rashidi Yekini in 1993, Emmanuel Amunike in 1994, Kanu Nwankwo in 1996, 1999 and Victor Ikpeba in 1997, the final Nigerian to win the award was then Arsenal participant Kanu Nwankwo who beat Ghanaian and Bayern Munich defender Samuel Kuffour and Ivorian and Marseille striker Ibrahima Bakayoko to win it in 1999.

It was a victorious comeback for Kanu who returned to the sport after surviving a coronary heart defect to rule Africa once more after his first win in 1996.

The striker gained the award in 1999 due to his exploits in his debut yr for Arsenal after becoming a member of the Premier League giants in February of that yr.

The Nigerian striker was unbelievable, scoring a lot of targets because the Gunners challenged Manchester United in England.

It was that very same yr he scored a memorable hat-trick for Arsenal of their 3-2 comeback away at Chelsea.

He beat Kuffour who gained the Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich in 1999 and acquired to the ultimate of the Champions League the place they misplaced to Manchester United 2-1.

Ivorian striker Bakayoko got here third following his unbelievable season with Marseille.

Since Kanu Nwankwo gained the award in 1999, solely two Nigerian gamers, Austin Jay Jay Okocha and John Mikel Obi have made it to the ultimate three.

Okocha completed runners-up in 1998 behind Morocco’s Mustapha Hadji and third in 2003 and 2004 behind Samuel Eto’o of Cameroon and Ivory Coast’s Didier Drogba.

Mikel was runner-up when Ivory Coasts’ Yaya Toure gained the award in 2013.

Why the drought in Nigeria

The 23-year previous drought of CAF African Participant of the 12 months Award in Nigeria boils right down to many elements, one being CAF’s inconsistency.

Nigeria which has the best variety of skilled gamers in Africa had only one consultant within the 30 man nominees for the CAF Participant of the 12 months Award as many as Comoros. Moses Simon who was arguably our greatest participant within the AFCON 2021 was our consultant however many felt that he was not the very best consultant for Nigeria to have in a serious award rewarding gamers for his or her efficiency within the final yr.

Surprisingly Napoli and Tremendous Eagles ahead Victor Osimhen was omitted from the nominees for the award, purpose being that he did not play the AFCON 2021.

For a person who scored 14 targets within the Italian Serie A final season, it did not appear rational and honest to omit the previous Lille man. In 2008, Emmanuel Adebayor gained the CAF Participant of the 12 months Award, he scored 24 Premier League targets and 3o targets in all competitions for Arsenal, arguably his finest ever season. Togo did not make it to the 2008 AFCON that yr however he nonetheless gained the award.

One may also say Osimhen’s omission is not all right down to not qualifying for AFCON however truly the Famous person impact.

Emmanuel Adebayor was main the road for arguably among the finest sides in world soccer on the time and on account of his status/celebrity impact he was in a position to win it. A modern-day instance is Algerian Riyad Mahrez, he captained the Algerian workforce who completed backside of their Group E however omitting a participant of the caliber of Riyad Mahrez could be nearly loopy from CAF as he’s a celebrity for Manchester Metropolis, among the finest golf equipment on this planet. Nigeria presently would not have these form of superstars enjoying in the very best golf equipment on this planet, the very best now we have is Victor Osimhen presently at Napoli, which is a high membership however not on the elite stage.

What Must be Accomplished

If Nigeria is to begin having CAF Participant of the 12 months Award winners, loads must be finished internally. We now have misplaced the construction that made us produce nice skills like within the 90s and we have to get it again. Nigeria has to look inward and develop its soccer from the grassroots and regionally.

Our gamers should be competing within the high 5 leagues with high groups and that includes repeatedly.

Gone are the times that gamers make it out from the Nigeria Skilled Soccer League(NPFL) to grow to be superstars in Europe like Rashidi Yekini who performed for Capturing Stars, Jay Jay Okocha who performed for Enugu Rangers youth workforce and Kanu Nwankwo who performed for Heartland FC, simply to call just a few.

These days, skills waste on a regular basis within the streets as what many scouts are fascinated about is simply cash, choosing the typical ones over the proficient ones, killing our soccer within the course of and we find yourself getting the companies of rejected Europeans, which should not be the case.

The 2 finest gamers of this era and arguably of all time, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo got here from very poor backgrounds, in the event that they have been Nigerians I do not assume the world would have know them. As a nation now we have failed in growing skills on account of greed, and if that does not change, we are going to go one other 23 years with out a CAF Participant of the 12 months Award Winner.

Abiaziem Olisa