The next Nigeria Footballer of the Year would emerge at a prestigious AITEO-NFF Football Awards taking place tonight at the Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Undoubtedly, out of all the players eligible for the award Odion Ighalo, Ahmed Musa and Alex Iwobi have posted exceptional outings for country and clubs.
For instance, Ighalo scored seven goals in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaign, the most by any player on the continent, to help Nigeria qualify for the finals in Egypt later this year.
At club level, Ighalo scored 21 goals in 28 matches for Changchun Yatai to emerge the second highest goal scorer in the Chinese Super League last season.
After Changchun Yatai’s relegation, Ighalo joined Shanghai Greenland Shenhua on February 14, 2019 where he has already scored two goals in three matches.
Ahmed Musa has been a worthy captain of the Super Eagles in the absence of John Mikel Obi who has not played for the national team after the Russia 2018 World Cup.
Musa became the first Nigerian to score more than once in a FIFA World Cup match, after scoring twice against Argentina in the 2014 FIFA World Cup and also the first Nigerian to score in two FIFA World Cup competitions, after scoring twice against Iceland in the group stage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
On 4 August 2018, Musa moved to Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr for a reported fee of £14.5 million. He has since scored five goals for the Riyadh based side.
22-year-old Onyinye Wilfred Ndidi has been a solid defensive midfielder for the Premier League club Leicester City and the Nigeria national team.
Alex Iwobi is probably having his best season for Arsenal after joining the Gunners while still in elementary school in 2004.
Iwobi’s 40 appearances in all competitions for his club is the most he has achieved so far and has scored five goals; three goals in the English Premier League, one in the League Cup and one in the Europa League.
On the international scene, the Gunners’ star has notched 27 caps for the national team and his most recent goal was scored on June 2, 2018, when England beat Nigeria 2-1 at the Wembley Stadium, in an international friendly.
In the female category, 2014, 2016, 2017 African Women’s Footballer of the Year, Asisat Oshoala is the clear favourite for the Nigeria Women’s Player of the Year Award after her stellar performance helped the Super Falcons to a third consecutive Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON) title with three goals in the 2018 edition and her influential role for Dalian Quanjian which won the 2018 Chinese Women’s Super League title.
On January 31, 2019, Spanish Club, FC Barcelona Femení Women signed Oshoala on a Loan deal until the end of the season and she has already scored five goals in five matches since joining the side.
Francisca Ordega, another player in contention for the award was arguably the best Super Falcons’ player in their AWCON 2018 triumph in Ghana, where she scored two goals and two assists and won the Woman of the Match Award at the final game against South Africa. She also helped Atlético Madrid to the Spanish Women’s league title in the year under review.
On February 28, 2019, the delectable player joined Shanghai W.F.C.
Ordega, who has represented Nigeria at all international levels, has 34 caps for the Super Falcons.
Onome Ebi who is also in the race plays for Henan Huishang in the Chinese Women’s Super League. At the back, the experienced defender was solid for the Super Falcons which conceded just one goal on their way to the final of AWCON 2018.
Meanwhile, Secretary-General of world football –ruling body, FIFA, Ms Fatma Samoura arrived Nigeria on Saturday, ahead of more than 20 Presidents of FIFA-Member Associations across the African continent for Monday’s 2nd AITEO-NFF Football Awards taking place at the Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.
At lunch on Sunday with the bigwigs of the NFF and a number of stakeholders of the Nigeria game, the Senegal-born former UN top official, expressed delight at being invited to Nigeria for the Awards and also for being considered worthy of a special award on the night. She will receive the NFF Order of Merit award.
At a press briefing on Friday, NFF 1st President and Chairman of the Awards Organizing Committee, Seyi Akinwunmi praised sponsors AITEO for continued support for the annual event and assured that both organisations will put on a great show tonight.
AITEO’s General Manager, Finance, Taiye Eyewuoma stated that the sponsor, Nigeria’s leading energy solution company and NFF’s Official Optimum Partner, is committed to sponsoring the awards ceremony as the partnership “is yielding good dividends for AITEO”. AITEO is also the sponsor of the Federation Cup competition and the annual African Football Awards.
Monday’s event will be broadcast live by leading television houses SuperSport and Africa Independent Television (AIT).
Among the highlights of the night would be the special honour to the 1994 set of Super Eagles – the squad forever referred to as the ‘Golden Generation’ for being the first to qualify Nigeria for the FIFA World Cup finals, winning the Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia and reaching the Round of 16 at the World Cup finals in the U.S. A good number of the squad members teamed up with the Dream Team of 1996 that became Africa’s first winners of the men’s football gold at the quadrennial Olympic Games.
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award, while business mogul, politician and avid football financier and supporter, Chief Moshood Kasimawo Olawale Abiola, who died in 1998, will be honoured posthumously with the NFF Presidential Award.
A welcome remark by NFF 1st VP/Chairman, Organizing Committee, Barrister Akinwunmi will be preceded by a performance by internationally –respected dancer Kaffy, before brief remarks by President of NFF, Mr. Amaju Melvin Pinnick, NFF and AITEO’s Deputy Managing Director, Mr. Francis Peters. Superstar musicians D’ Banj, Ricardo Banks and Timi Dakolo are among those to entertain on the night.
Former Nigerian captain, Olusegun Odegbami, Super Falcons’ legend Maureen Madu, former Super Falcons’ coach Edwin Okon, former FIFA referee Faith Irabor and Chairman of the Nigeria Women Football League, Aisha Falode would be among the presenters at the event.