Africa’s Best! Osimhen Crowned 2023 CAF Footballer Of The Year

Africa’s Best! Osimhen Crowned 2023 CAF Footballer Of The Year

Monday's award capped off a sterling year for the Super Eagles forward whose historic feat in the imperial Moroccan city of Marakesh ended Nigeria's 24-year-old wait for Africa's top individual prize

Victor Osimhen has been crowned the 2023 African Footballer of the Year in a momentous event that solidified his status as one of the best players in the world. 

Osimhen saw off competition from Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi and Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah.

Monday’s award capped off a sterling year for the Super Eagles forward whose historic feat in the imperial Moroccan city of Marakesh ended Nigeria’s 24-year-old wait for Africa’s top individual prize. Legendary Kanu Nwankwo was the last Nigerian to win the award and that was in 1999.

The prize is a recognition of Osimhen’s exploits for his Napoli club side and the national team where he is a key member. He spearheaded the Italian team’s unprecedented Serie A title run, scoring 26 goals in the league to become the first African to win the Pichichi (top scorer) award. His contribution broke George Weah’s record as the highest-scoring player from the continent in the Italian top flight.

Napoli last won the Scudetto 33 years ago during the legendary Diego Maradona’s era. For the 2022/23 campaign, the former Lille striker’s impeccable form saw him included in the Serie A Team of the Year as he also clinched the Best Striker prize.

Osimhen’s ranking in the 2023 Ballon d’Or was a testament to his contributions to the Serie A team’s epochal showing. He was ninth, becoming the highest-ranked African for the year and the most-ranked Nigerian in the history of the award.

Earlier in the month, the Nigerian was crowned as Italian footballers’ association player of the Year, the first African to win the AIC award.

Though Nigeria agonizingly missed out on the 2022 World Cup, losing the ticket to perennial rivals Ghana, Osimhen’s contributions to the Super Eagles were staggering in the year under review. He was the top scorer in the qualification race for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with 10 goals.

Although injuries have hampered his outing for Napoli this season – with just six goals in 10 games for Walter Mazzari’s men – Monday’s award is the crowning point of a hugely successful year for the Nigerian marksman.

Nnadozie Crowned 2023 CAF Women’s Goalkeeper Of The Year

Nnadozie Crowned 2023 CAF Women’s Goalkeeper Of The Year

Nnadozie beat fellow goalkeepers in the form of Moroccan shot-stopper Khadija El-Rmichi and South Africa's Andile Olaminii

Chiamaka Nnadozie was crowned the CAF Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year for 2023 on Monday night.

Nnadozie beat fellow goalkeepers in the form of Moroccan shot-stopper Khadija El-Rmichi and South Africa’s Andile Olaminii

She showed her heroics in the Women’s World Cup match against Olympic champions Canada, making three saves, including stopping a 50th-minute penalty from Christine Sinclair.

Her performances in the game secured a goalless draw for the Super Falcons, earned her a Player of the Match award and garnered international attention.

The 23-year-old, in her acceptance speech, said, ”I just want to use this great opportunity to say a very great thank you to the organisers and also for remembering the female goalkeeper this year.”

“I also want to say a very big thank you to the Nigerian football president for everything he has done in the Nigerian league and female football. I am a product of Nigerian female football.”

“Also, thank you to my club, Paris FC for all the encouragement and thanks to everyone who voted for me and who nominated me.”

“And to all the young girls who grew up footballers one day—believe me, dreams do come true.”

“My dad never wanted me to play, but I am sure he is going to see this tonight and he is going to be happy.”

“Keep dreaming; keep working hard. Thank you”

[CAF Awards] Super Falcons Win Women’s Team Of The Year

[CAF Awards] Super Falcons Win Women’s Team Of The Year

The Super Falcons have been named the Women's Team of the Year at the CAF 2023 Awards off the back of an impressive showing at the World Cup earlier in the year. 

The Super Falcons have been named the Women’s Team of the Year at the CAF 2023 Awards off the back of an impressive showing at the World Cup earlier in the year. 

Osimhen Fvaourite To Win CAF Men’s Award, Says Adebayor

Osimhen Fvaourite To Win CAF Men’s Award, Says Adebayor

39-year-old Adebayor was the recipient of the most coveted crown in Africa back in 2008, beating the likes of Egyptian legend Mohamed Aboutrika and Ghanaian midfielder Michael Essien.

Former Togolese forward Emmanuel Adebayor has said Nigerian star Victor Osimhen is a favourite to clinch the 2023 CAF Footballer of the Year award.

Osimhen is in contention with Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah, who is in line for a third African Player of the Year Award and Achraf Hakimi, who was part of the inspirational Moroccan side that became the first African team to progress to the World Cup semi-finals.

He is considered a firm favourite to clinch the crown after a stellar 2022–2023 season with Napoli, guiding them to their first Serie A title triumph in 33 years.

39-year-old Adebayor was the recipient of the most coveted crown in Africa back in 2008, beating the likes of Egyptian legend Mohamed Aboutrika and Ghanaian midfielder Michael Essien.

Adebayor made this assertion on Monday during the opening ceremony of the awards, where he praised the outstanding performance of the 24-year-old for Napoli.

READ ALSO: African Footballer Of The Year Award: Osimhen On Verge Of Breaking 24-Year-Old Jinx

”Let us put it into perspective What Osimhen has done is incredible. It is just like winning the French Ligue 1 with Nantes,’ Adebayor said.

”I’m not saying Napoli is a small team; it is a big team and this team has been struggling for years to win the Scudetto back and they couldn’t but Osimhen was the main player and a key player.”

”Scoring goals week in and week out in England is something we can all do in top form but trust me, it is very, very difficult to replicate in Italy.”

”Because defensively, they are very strong and tactically, and they have the best defenders in the world. ”

On why fellow contenders Mo Salah and Achraf Hakimi might not clinch the crown, the former Arsenal player indicated that they had little impact in their various club sides. 

”Obviously, for me, Mo Salah’s last season, I won’t say, was a disaster but when you put it together as a club for Liverpool, they didn’t do anything.”

”Now, when you come to Hakimi for the good tournament with Morocco and go to the semi-finals of the World Cup, he also played his part but he was more of a team player; there was no shining star amongst the Moroccan team,” he said.

Mother Of Mexican Drug Kingpin ‘El Chapo’ Dies Age 95

Mother Of Mexican Drug Kingpin ‘El Chapo’ Dies Age 95

Mother Of Mexican Drug Kingpin ‘El Chapo’ Dies Age 95

Loera died Sunday at a private hospital in Culiacan, the capital of the northwestern state of Sinaloa.

The mother of notorious Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, Maria Consuelo Loera, has died at age 95, according to family members and local media.

Loera died Sunday at a private hospital in Culiacan, the capital of the northwestern state of Sinaloa — where her son’s powerful drug trafficking cartel is headquartered, due to complications weeks after gallbladder surgery, family and media said.

Controversy famously swirled around Loera after she met with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in March 2020 while he was touring the state. He approached her car to greet her, which sparked sharp criticism of the leader.

Obrador at the time defended his gesture, saying the elderly woman “deserves all my respect regardless of who her son is.”

“If I shake hands with white-collar criminals, how can I not shake hands with a lady?” he said.

During their encounter, Loera delivered a letter to Obrador asking him for help to acquire a humanitarian visa to visit her son in prison in the United States, where he has been serving a life sentence for drug trafficking since 2019.

She was never able to make the trip.

Asked for his reaction to her death during his morning press conference Monday, Obrador offered his condolences.

“I respect the family… Any human being who loses her life deserves respect and also a consideration for the relatives, to everyone,” he said. “No human is alien to me.”

Russia To Hold Presidential Elections In Occupied Ukraine

Russia To Hold Presidential Elections In Occupied Ukraine

The election will be held over a three-day period from March 15 to 17.

Voting for the Russian presidential election, which is likely to see Vladimir Putin re-elected, will be held in four Ukrainian regions the Kremlin claimed to have annexed last year, Moscow said on Monday.

The Central Elections Commission said voting in March would go ahead in Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson — regions of Ukraine over which Russia still does not have full military control.

“The decision was adopted unanimously,” commission vice-president Nikolay Bulayev said, according to the state-run news agency TASS.

The election will be held over a three-day period from March 15 to 17, a move that Kremlin critics have argued makes guaranteeing transparency more difficult.

Putin is not expected to face any major challenges in his bid for a fifth term, with most of Russia’s opposition jailed or in exile.

Five parties have been allowed to put forward a candidate for the 2024 vote without collecting signatures. All support the Kremlin and the military offensive in Ukraine.

Ukraine earlier urged the international community to “resolutely condemn Russia’s intention to hold presidential elections in the occupied Ukrainian territories”.

Kyiv also called on the West to sanction individuals responsible.

Russia has previously held elections in occupied regions of Ukraine, votes denounced by Kyiv and the West as null and void.

Moscow held ballots for local officials in the four Ukrainian regions in September.

One year earlier it had held a “referendum” to annex the territories.

Both votes were also condemned by Kyiv and the West.

Russia unilaterally annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 and has held ballots there since.

Dangote Refinery Will Champion Nigeria’s Energy Security — Otedola

Dangote Refinery Will Champion Nigeria’s Energy Security — Otedola

Otedola described the refinery as the "8th wonder of the world", saying that it promises economic transformation for Nigerians and generations to come.

Billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola, has described the Dangote Refinery as the “8th wonder of the world”, saying it will champion Nigeria’s energy security.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, Otedola said the refinery promises economic transformation for Nigerians and generations to come.

“By meeting our requirements for all refined petroleum products, it will champion energy security and independence for our nation and act as a catalyst for a new era of prosperity for the subcontinent. It promises economic transformation for Nigerians today and for generations to come,” he wrote.

The refinery sited in Lagos and owned by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, is said to have commenced operations with 350,000 barrels a day.

The refinery recently received its first one million barrels of Agbami crude grade, which represents the first phase of the six million barrels to be supplied to the refinery by several suppliers.

Congratulating his “bestie”, Otedola described Dangote as a visionary patriot.

He said the refinery is “much more than just an industrial milestone; it’s a testament to the visionary leadership and relentless pursuit of excellence of one of Africa’s finest and most dogged patriots”.

“I had a front-row seat as this vision was conceptualized and took shape. And I am familiar with the sleepless nights you’ve had to work through over the last decade to bring this dream to fruition.

This refinery is a beacon of hope for millions of Nigerians and Africans. It is also at the vanguard of championing environmental sustainability,” Otedola said.