2023 CAF Awards: NFF on global map again as Nigerian players dominate major honours

By Micheal Obasi

If there is a perfect momentum the current board of the Nigeria Football Federation will want to have going to next month’s Africa Cup Nations is the dominant outing of the country at the 2023 CAF Awards held in Morocco.
The NFF under the leadership of Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau has never hidden the country’s determination to win the 2024 AFCON especially with the lunching of the Let’s do it Campaign and the signs are only looking better for that to happen.
This was on Monday buttressed with Nigeria breaking a 24 years old jinx when Victor Osimhen claimed the highest individual prize in African football, the Best African male player of the year.
This means the Super Eagles will be going to the Nations Cup with having the best player on the continent in their fold, something that has not happened in more than two decades.
The present NFF might not look too flamboyant on the surface because it does not believe in too much media hype but the aura around it is very positive and achievement-oriented.
This was displayed when the Super Falcons shocked the world with their performance at the World cup this year and now Nigeria can boast of producing the best male and female players on the continent once again after a very long time.
Speaking after the awards in Morocco, NFF President Ibrahim Gusau said this is what Nigeria football is all about, with the quality of talents that are scattered all over the country from the North to the South.
He said, “I am particularly elated because our football is on the global stage again with these display by Our players at the awards”.
“You can see that all over the World of football the name Nigeria is on everybody’s lips for all the right reasons and this is the kind of image this Present board is committed to always give to the country.
“We are so happy for the likes of Osimhen, Asisat and Chiamaka Nnadozie for this wonderful feats and this will further motivate the NFF to strive towards more achievements next year and beyond.”
Chiamaka’s feat was particularly special because it is the first time CAF is introducing the best Goalkeeper Award for Women.
Osimhen”s feat has now made Nigeria joint record holder with Ivory Coast, producing six winners, the highest number in the history of the Men CAF Awards.
As a Country the Nigerian Government can build on this latest feat by maintaining maximum support for the Nigeria Football Federation towards next month’s AFCON.
At a time like this where the current government is trying to fix back the country, not too many things excite the citizens but an AFCON glory in Ivory Coast can change the entire mood of the Nation.
The NFF is however very optimistic that the Federal Government will continue to give it all the support towards both the AFCON in January and the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
Obasi, a Sports affairs analyst writes from Abuja.