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- Ademola Lookman was nominated in the 30-man shortlist for the 2024 Ballon d'Or
- He had a remarkable season with Atalanta, scoring a hat trick in the Europa League final
- He joins an elite list of eight Nigerian footballers who have been nominated for the award
Super Eagles attacker Ademola Lookman was named in the 30-man shortlist of players nominated for the prestigious 2024 France Football Ballon d'Or award.
Lookman was the only player representing an African country who was named on the list after a remarkable season for Atalanta, where he scored a hat trick in the Europa League final.
Source: Getty Images
According to Soar Super Eagles, he became the eighth Nigerian footballer to be nominated for the prestigious award, joining an elite list.
Legit.ng looks at the previous seven Nigerians to be nominated.
Past Nigeria Ballon d'Or nominees
1. Finidi, Amokachi, Okocha
According to Vanguard, Finidi George, Daniel Amokachi, and Austin Jay-Jay Okocha were the first Nigerian to be nominated for the award in 1995. Amokachi won the FA Cup with Everton, Finidi won the league and UEFA Champions League at Ajax, while Okocha had a fantastic individual season at Fenerbahce.
4. Nwankwo Kanu
Two-time African Footballer of the Year was the fourth Nigerian to make the 30-man shortlist and has featured twice. The first time was in 1996 when he was at Inter Milan. He helped Nigeria to win the Atlanta 96 Olympic gold medal. He got his second nomination in 1999 during his time at Arsenal.
5. Victor Ikpeba
Ikpeba is best remembered for his years at AS Monaco, where he spent six years. He was shortlisted for the Ballon d'Or in 1998 after helping the French club to a league and cup double, becoming the fifth Nigerian to have that honour.
6. Sunday Oliseh
The legendary midfielder was nominated for the award in 1998 during his days at Dutch club Ajax. Oliseh helped the club to win the league and cup double in the 1997/98 season.
7. Asisat Oshoala
The only female Nigerian footballer to be nominated for the award. Six-time African Women's Footballer of the Year Asisat Oshoala was nominated twice in 2022 and 2023 during her time with Barcelona Femeni.
8. Victor Osimhen
The reigning African Footballer of the Year, Osimhen, was nominated for the award in 2023 and finished eight. He helped Napoli to win the Serie A title in the 2022/23 season and won the golden boot. He left the club this week and joined Galatasaray on loan.
Asisat Oshoala missing from Ballon d'Or list
Legit.ng reported that Oshoala was excluded from Ballon d'Or nomination list for the 2023/24 Women's Awards, and only two African players were featured in this year's list.
Oshoala is arguably the greatest female footballer to come out of Africa but was left out of the list despite winning the treble with Barcelona Femeni before joining Bay FC.
Source: Legit.ng
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