Nigeria and Napoli forward, Victor Osimhen, has entered the list of elite African footballers to be nominated for the prestigious 2023 Best FIFA Men’s Player of the Year Award.
Osimhen was unveiled by World football governing body, FIFA, alongside 11 other star players as a nominee on its official website, Thursday, September 14, 2023.
Osimhen’s inclusion in the 12-player shortlist stems us coming a few days after he was named in the 30-man list of nominees for the 2023 Ballon D’or which is the pinnacle of awards for players across the globe.
The Nigerian star striker’s nomination is a well deserved honour following his sterling performances in the Italian Serie A in the 2022/2023 season where he was instrumental to the team’s first Scudetto win since 1990, scoring 26 goals to emerge top scorer in thr league.
With that feat, Osimhen also became the first African player to win the Golden Boot in the Serie A.
On the African continent, the Lagos-born Osimhen was also in free scoring form, chiming in with 10 goals in the recently concluded AFCON qualifiers.
To win the 2023 FIFA Men’s Player of the Year Award, football fans around the world would have the chance of casting their votes for their favorite players across various categories.
According to the voting process amnounced by the football governing body, fans will have the opportunity to vote via FIFA.com, with a combined input from an international jury comprising national team captains, coaches, and select global journalists.
The voting period for fans commenced on Thursday, September 14 and will concludes at midnight on Friday, October 6, 2023.
The stipulated qualification period for the Best FIFA Football Awards 2023 extends from December 19, 2022, to August 20, 2023, a day after the end of the FIFA World Cup 2022.