Ex-Super Eagles explain why African Best Player Award was elusive

For 24 years, Nigeria had failed to win the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Player of the Year award in the male category probably due to complex and multifaceted reasons.

The dynamics of the award and the performances of players from other African countries must have played a negative role in Nigeria’s lack of success in this particular category of the annual awards.

Moreover, even as Nigeria boasts of several outstanding footballers, their individual performances may not have consistently stood out sufficiently to secure the award.

In addition, players from other African countries may have had exceptionally outstanding seasons, making it challenging for Nigerian players to clinch the award.

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It is an open secret that the CAF Player of the Year award often takes into account a player’s performance both at the club and international levels. Nigerian players may not have consistently achieved significant success at top European clubs or in major international tournaments, which could have impacted their chances of winning the award which was introduced in 1992.

The first Nigerian to win the award was the late Rashidi Yekini in 1993 who was renowned for his powerful and clinical finishing before Emmanuel Amunike claimed the 1994 CAF Men’s Player of The Year award. He played a significant role in Nigeria’s success at the 1994 African Cup of Nations and was a part of the team that participated at the 1994 World Cup in the United States, scoring against Bulgaria and Italy.

In 1996 lanky Kanu Nwankwo won and in the following year, Victor Ikpeba emerged Africa’s best. In 1999, Kanu regained his crown and he remains the only Nigerian to have won it twice till date. That happened to be the last time a Nigerian player won the diadem till Victor Osimhen ended the long wait last Monday in Morocco.

Osimhen, who led Napoli to win the Italian League title last season, beat Paris Saint-Germain’s Morocco right-back, Achraf Hakimi and Liverpool’s Egypt winger, Mohamed Salah, to win the top award. It took a long time for the jinx to be broken.

In the course of the long wait, so many Super Eagles stars, notably former captain, Austin Jay-Jay Okocha, failed to win the coveted trophy. The case of the former PSG and Bolton Wanderers mercurial midfielder is still a surprise to many football fans in Nigeria as many are of the opinion that he had done enough to be crowned the King of African football for at least once.

Even as the country is presently celebrating Osimhen, Asisat Oshoala who won her sixth African Footballer of the Year Award (Women’s category), Chimaka Nndozie who won the Best Goalkeeper award and the Super Falcons for emerging as the Best Female National Team, there are concerns that it might take decades again for a Nigerian to win the men’s best player award.

Trust Sports, therefore, spoke to a couple of former Super Eagles players to find out the reasons for the failure of Nigeria to win the prestigious award since 1999 when it was won by the legendary Kanu.

According to a former Super Eagles goalkeeper, Alloy Agu, African football had developed over the years and there was massive competition from other countries.

“African football has grown over the years and we now see other nations doing their best to be among the best. So, there is competition among the African countries. So, that is a big factor. And for Osimhen to win, it’s a reflection of his hard work over the years.

“His work rate is responsible for his success to have been the first Nigerian to be named among the ten best players in the world. It is hoped that his win will motivate other Super Eagles players and even the younger ones to ensure that Nigeria remains at the top.

“Again, this should be the second time in Africa that the best male and female players are from Nigeria,” he said

In the same vein, the man that scored the goal that gave Nigeria the AFCON trophy in 2013, Sunday Mba, blamed the long wait on the poor performances of the Super Eagles over the years while urging the football administrators to put plans in motion to revive Nigerian football.

“The truth is that we have not been doing well at all as a team. We won the last Nations Cup as a team and I pray we do win again. So Nigeria not winning the award in 24 years is as a result of poor performances over the year.

“The NFF has a lot to do to ensure this tempo is sustained after Osimhen’s win. We have to go back to the drawing board to revive our football once again. Osimhen is a fantastic player who shone well above everyone in the Super Eagles and we saw him perform well for his club,” he said.

Similarly, a former Super Eagles coach, Samson Siasia, said the country’s failure to qualify for AFCON and FIFA World Cup in the past also played a role.

“It’s a tough one because different factors must have played a part from the players themselves to the administration of the game in Nigeria. There is no consistency and we equally missed out on some editions of AFCON and World Cup that could have been of advantage to us.

“It’s a good thing that Osimhen won to join the likes of Rashidi, Amuneke, Kanu and Ikpeba. This should spur the team to work hard and ensure they give their best if they want to be recognised by the world,” he said.

Also speaking, a former Super Eagles utility player, Garba Lawal said the players fell below CAF standards to be considered for the award.

“I wasn’t part of the generations that failed to win but I will say we didn’t play up to expectations. CAF has its criteria for choosing the best player and it means our players over the years fell below them.

“So it is a good thing to see Osimhen meeting up and getting the award. I love to see the young ones get inspired with the win and see that they keep Nigeria on the stage again,” he stated.

And in a chat with TVC, the chairman, FCT FA, Alhaji Adam Mouktar Mohammed, said Nigeria lacked the requisite structure to develop talents compared to countries like Morocco.

“I try to differentiate between potential and reality. We are a country of 200m people with demography of young people.

“We have a gap which is we don’t have a center of excellence like Egypt, Morocco whereby you will see a clear correlation between those world class centers that trained talents emerge. We look for accidental talents. We need to be more deliberate,” he declared.