Europa League winner Ademola Lookman is Africa’s Footballer of the Year. The former Leipzig player received the award from the African continental association CAF on Monday evening in Marrakesh/Morocco and beat, among others, Borussia Dortmund’s Serhou Guirassy. The award for best female footballer on the continent went to 24-year-old Barbra Banda from Zambia.
The Nigerian Lookman (27) shot Atalanta Bergamo to the title with a hat-trick in the 3-0 win in the Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen and was already considered the favorite for the trophy before the award ceremony. He follows last year’s winner Victor Osimhen (Galatasaray Istanbul).
In addition to Guirassy and Lookman, Achraf Hakimi (Morocco/Paris St. Germain), goalkeeper Ronwen Williams (South Africa/Mamelodi Sundowns) and Ivorian winger Simon Adingra (Brighton and Hove Albion) were nominated. BVB star Guirassy, who played for VfB Stuttgart in the previous season, also missed out on making it into the best team of the year.