Nigerian football stars, Ademola Lookman, Asisat Oshoala and William Troost-Ekong have been shortlisted for best attacker and best defender categories, respectively, of the 20024 FIFA Best awards.
Ademola Lookman, Wiliam Troost-Ekong, and Asisat Oshoala were among the nominees from Nigeria announced by FIFA on Friday, November 29.
Lookman, who ranked 14th in the recently held 2024 Ballon d’Or ceremony, was shortlisted in the Best Attacker category alongside Vinicius Junior, Lamine Yamal, Bukayo Saka, Erling Haaland, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, among others.
Troost-Ekong will compete in the Best Defender category against Dani Carvajal, Antonio Rüdiger, William Saliba, Achraf Hakimi, Manuel Akanji, Jonathan Tah and many more.
Oshoala was nominated for the newly introduced Marta Award for the best goal in women’s football. The 30-year-old’s acrobatic strike for Barcelona Femeni against Benfica in the women’s Champions League in November 2023 got the nomination.
Rodri and Vinicius will again compete against each other for the men’s best player award. The duo were nominated alongside nine other players, including Jude Bellingham, Mbappe, Toni Kroos and Federico Valverde.
Rodri was crowned the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner in October, a decision that was met with criticism from fans.
Votes for the 2024 FIFA Best awards will be weighted equally between fans and an expert panel. Fans can cast their votes on the FIFA website until 10 December 2024.
(FULL LIST)
The Best FIFA Women’s Player nominees
Aitana Bonmati (Spain), Barcelona
Barbra Banda (Zambia), Shanghai Shengli/Orlando Pride
Caroline Graham Hansen (Norway), Barcelona
Keira Walsh (England), Barcelona
Khadija Shaw (Jamaica), Manchester City
Lauren Hemp (England), Manchester City
Lindsey Horan (USA), Olympique Lyonnais
Lucy Bronze (England), Barcelona/Chelsea
Mallory Swanson (USA), Chicago Red Stars
Mariona Caldentey (Spain), Barcelona/Arsenal
Naomi Girma (USA), San Diego Wave
Ona Batlle (Spain), Barcelona
Salma Paralluelo (Spain), Barcelona
Sophia Smith (USA), Portland Thorns
Tabitha Chawinga (Malawi), Paris Saint-Germain/Olympique Lyonnais
Trinity Rodman (USA), Washington Spirit
The Best FIFA Men’s Player nominees
Dani Carvajal (Spain), Real Madrid
Erling Haaland (Norway), Manchester City
Federico Valverde (Uruguay), Real Madrid
Florian Wirtz (Germany), Bayer Leverkusen
Jude Bellingham (England), Real Madrid
Kylian Mbappe (France), Paris Saint-Germain/Real Madrid
Lamine Yamal (Spain), Barcelona
Lionel Messi (Argentina), Inter Miami
Rodri (Spain), Manchester City
Toni Kroos (Germany), Real Madrid (now retired)
Vinicius Jr (Brazil), Real Madrid
The Best FIFA Women’s Coach nominees
Arthur Elias (Brazil), Brazil
Elena Sadiku (Sweden), Celtic
Emma Hayes (England), Chelsea/USA
Futoshi Ikeda (Japan), Japan
Gareth Taylor (England), Manchester City
Jonatan Giraldez (Spain), Barcelona/Washington Spirit
Sandrine Soubeyrand (France), Paris FC
Sonia Bompastor (France), Olympique Lyonnais/Chelsea
The Best FIFA Men’s Coach nominees
Carlo Ancelotti (Italy), Real Madrid
Lionel Scaloni (Argentina), Argentina
Luis de la Fuente (Spain), Spain
Pep Guardiola (Spain), Manchester City
Xabi Alonso (Spain), Bayer Leverkusen
The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper nominees
Alyssa Naeher (USA), Chicago Red Stars
Ann-Katrin Berger (Germany), Chelsea/NJ/NY Gotham
Ayaka Yamashita (Japan), INAC Kobe Leonessa/Manchester City
Cata Coll (Spain), Barcelona
Mary Earps (England), Manchester United/Paris Saint-Germain
The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper nominees
Andriy Lunin (Ukraine), Real Madrid
David Raya (Spain), Arsenal
Ederson (Brazil), Manchester City
Emiliano Martinez (Argentina), Aston Villa
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy), Paris Saint-Germain
Mike Maignan (France), AC Milan
Unai Simon (Spain), Athletic Club
Madukwe B. Nwabuisi is an accomplished journalist renown for his fearless reporting style and extensive expertise in the field. He is an investigative journalist, who has established himself as a kamikaze reporter.
