Ademola Lookman has been crowned the 2024 African Footballer of the Year in a historic event that confirms his status as one of the best players in the world in the current calendar year.
The Super Eagles of Nigeria forward shook off competitions from South Africa’s Ronwen Williams, Cote d’Ivoire’s Simon Adingra, Achraf Hakimi of Morocco, and Guinea striker Serhou Guirassy to win the prize.
His win means the award remains in Nigeria after teammate Victor Osimhen won it last year.
The Atalanta of Italy player, who personally received the award in Marrakech, Morocco on Monday night, described it something as “incredible” which he is “extremely proud of.
Reminiscing on his past struggles as a footballer, the 27-year-old advised young people never to allow their past failures define their future.
“Just over four years ago I failed in front of the world, fast forward to four years I am the best player in Africa,” Lookman recalled.
“I want to say to the young children and young people watching this ‘don’t let your failures weigh you down that they break your wings, turn your pain into your power and continue to fight and continue to fly’, God bless!”
The prize is a recognition of Lookman’s outstanding exploits for the Super Eagles and his club side Atalanta. He was in scintillating form as Nigeria reached the final of the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast this year, scoring some vital goals in the process.
Atalanta won its first European trophy in the club’s 104 years of existence in May thanks to Lookman’s ingenuity. The Nigerian scored a hat-trick in the Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen to hand the coveted trophy to his club.
His performance in the Europa League final is arguably one of the best individual performances in a European final.
Earlier in October, Lookman was ranked number 14 in the 2023 Ballon d’Or award, the most prestigious football award in the world. He was the only African player that made the award nomination list in 2024.