The CAF Men’s player of the year award honors the best performing men’s African player over a one year period.
The 2025 edition of the prestigious continental award is scheduled to take place on Wednesday evening in Rabat, Morocco, with Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen among the contenders after a stellar campaign for Turkish club Galatasaray.
The 26-year-old played an instrumental role in their league and Turkish cup triumph and has continued the excellent form into the 2025-26 season.
Historically, multiple Nigerians have also been announced winners of the highly prestigious award.
Join SportPremi as we highlight the Nigerians that have won the CAF Men’s Player of the year award;
Rashidi Yekini (1993)
Of blessed memory, Rashidi Yekini remains the most iconic figure in Nigerian football history. He scored the country’s first goal at the FIFA World Cup and was also the first player from the nation to win the prestigious CAF Men’s player of the year award.
Yekini stands as the Super Eagles all-time top goalscorer land beat Abedi Pele and Tont Yeboah to clinch the award in 1993.
Emmanuel Amunike (1994)
Emmanuel Amunike continued a period of dominance for Nigerian football on the continental stage following his CAF Men’s player of the year win in 1994.
The former Super Eagles international finished ahead of the legendary George Weah and teammate Daniel Amokachi to win the prestigious award.
Nwankwo Kanu (1996 and 1999)
Former Arsenal striker Kanu Nwankwo was part of the famous Nigerian ‘Dream Team’ that claimed gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in the United States.
‘Papilo’ netted twice in a dramatic 4-3 semifinal win over tournament favorites Brazil and earned the player of the year award for his remarkable contributions.
The iconic figure won the award for a second time in 1999, becoming the first and only Nigerian till date to win the award on more than one occasion.
Victor Ikpeba (1997):
Nicknamed ‘the Prince of Monaco’, former Super Eagles international Victor Ikpeba also joined the list of players to have won the prestigious CAF Men’s player of the year award, following his triumph in 1997.
Victor Ikpeba played a very influential role for AS Monaco as they claimed the French League and Cup double honors.
He also enjoyed an impressive spell in their run to the semifinal of the UEFA Cup and was rewarded for his amazing contributions with the award.
Victor Osimhen (2023)
Unsurprisingly, Victor Osimhen takes a spot on this list after winning the highly-covered award in 2023.
The win ended Nigeria’s lengthy spell without a winner, with Victor Ikpeba’s 1997 triumph being the country’s last win.
The 26-year-old netted 26 goals as Napoli romped to a first Italian Serie A title in 33 years, becoming the African player with the most goals in a single Serie A campaign.
Osimhen also finished eighth in the 2023 ballon d’Or awards, becoming the first Nigeria to achieve a top-ten finish at the award ceremony.
The Galatasaray striker could add a second win to his name at the 2025 awards, but faces stiff competition from Egypt’s Mohamed Salah and Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi.
Ademola Lookman (2024)
Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman ensured it was back-to-back victories for Nigeria at the award after beating Achraf Hakimi and Serrhou Guirassy to the 2024 award.
He became the sixth Nigerian player to win the award, capping off an excellent season with both club and country.
The 28-year-old led Atalanta to a first-ever European title, netting a remarkable hat-trick in the 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the 2024 UEFA Europa League final and was also pivotal to the Super Eagles’ run to the 2024 AFCON final.
