FIFA Best: CAF POTY Favourite Lookman, Ekong Receive Nominations For Top Award

• Ademola Lookman is the leading contender to win the 2024 CAF Men's Player of the Year Award
• Lookman has solidified his chances by receiving the prestigious FIFA The Best Award nomination
• Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong, who was dropped from the CAF POTY list, was also nominated

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Ademola Lookman continues to reap the rewards of his brilliant year for club and country as he receives another nomination alongside William Troost-Ekong.

Lookman is the leading favourite to win the 2024 CAF Men's Player of the Year after a remarkable year for his club, Atalanta and the Super Eagles of Nigeria at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

He was initially nominated in that 10-man shortlist and again retained his spot when CAF downsized the list to five, but AFCON 2023 MVP Ekong missed out.

Lookman, Ekong receive FIFA nominations

FIFA announced the nominations for its yearly The Best Awards via its social media pages, with different categories including the best male and female released.

Nigerian contingent Lookman and Ekong are in contention to be in the Men's 11, in the attacker’s and defender’s categories, respectively, cementing their status as one of the best in Africa.

Lookman is up against the top stars in the world, including eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr, and Erling Haaland, among others.

Super Eagles captain Ekong faces competition from Euro 2024-winning defender Dani Carvajal, CAF POTY nominee Achraf Hakimi, and UEFA Champions League winner Antonio Rudiger.

As noted by FIFA.com, the votes are equally weighted between fans, the current captains and coaches of all women’s/men’s national teams, and media representatives.

Fans are eligible to vote for the Men and Women's 11 for the first time, as confirmed by the world football governing body.

Nigeria dropped in FIFA rankings

Legit.ng reported that Nigeria dropped in latest FIFA rankings after a poor outing at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers matches against Benin Republic and Rwanda in November.

As confirmed by FIFA, the Super Eagles are the biggest loser, losing eight places to drop to 44th on the global rankings and dropping a place to fifth in Africa.