Atalanta forward, Ademola Lookman, on Friday presented his Confederation of African Football (CAF) 2024 African Footballer of the Year award to President Bola Tinubu and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State.
Lookman, after the conclusion of the 2024/25 season with Atalanta came back to Nigeria on vacation and the Super Eagles attacker in a video shared on X by Sanwo-Olu’s Senior Special Assistant on New Media, Jubril A. Gawat, paid a visit to the governor.
“Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu this evening, received famous Nigerian footballer, Atalanta forward and CAF African Footballer of the Year, Ademola Lookman at the Lagos House, Marina on a courtesy visit,” Gawat wrote.
“Lookman visited the governor in company of his father and Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Grassroots Sports Development, Mr. Adeboye Anthony Adeyinka, as he presented his CAF award to the governor.”
Lookman won the award on December 16, 2024 after replacing fellow Nigerian compatriot and Napoli striker, Victor Osimhen who won it in 2023.
The Atalanta attacker emerged as the winner after a spectacular year with both club and country.
He scored two goals in four matches during the 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualification series to help the Super Eagles qualify for the tournament in grand style.
Lookman as expected made the former Super Eagles head coach, Jose Peseiro’s final 25-man squad list for the 2023 AFCON which took place in Cote d’Ivoire from January 13 to February 11, 2024 and went ahead to become the talisman for Nigeria.
He made an assist for Osimhen to net Nigeria’s equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Equatorial Guinea in their group A opener and was hugely instrumental to the Super Eagles qualifying for the knockout stages.
Lookman scored both goals for the Super Eagles in their 2–0 win over Cameroon in the round of 16 before scoring their only goal in a 1–0 win over Angola in the quarter-final as they reached the semi-final where they beat South Africa on penalty shootout.
The Atalanta winger in the process became the fourth Nigerian to score three or more goals in the knockout rounds of a single AFCON edition, matching the record set by Odion Ighalo, Austin Jay-Jay Okocha and the late Rashidi Yekini.
Nigerians had expected Osimhen to be the talisman for the Super Eagles at the 2023 AFCON in terms of goalscoring but with Lookman taking up that mantle, his name became number one on the lips of his compatriots back at home and in the diaspora.
The 27-year-old was also included in the official team of the tournament for the 2023 AFCON, according to CAF.
Furthermore, Lookman also delivered for his club during the 2023/24 season and was the major reason Atalanta won their first ever European trophy after scoring a historic hat-trick in the final of the Europa League to help his side thrash Bayer Leverkusen 3-0.
