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FIFA Best Awards 2024: Lookman, Ekong, Oshoala, Onuachu Among Nominees (Full List)

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1 year ago

November 29, 2024

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The Nigerian quartet of Ademola Lookman, William Troost-Ekong, Asisat Oshoala, and Paul Onuachu has been shortlisted in various categories of the FIFA Best Awards for 2024.

A list released Friday by the World Football governing body shows that Lookman, who plays for Atalanta in the Italian Serie A, was nominated in the Best Attacker category. He will battle it out with the impressive Vinicius Junior, Lamine Yamal, Bukayo Saka, Erling Haaland, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo among other high-profile players.

The Nigerian who had an impeccable showing last season, leading Atalanta to the Europa League crown, has also started this season’s campaign in fine form. He helped the Super Eagles reach the final of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) where they lost narrowly to hosts Cote d’Ivoire.

Lookman is also in pole position to be crowned the CAF Player of the Year for 2024 when the awards ceremony takes place next month.

Nigeria’s stand-in captain Troost-Ekong was named in the Best Defender category alongside Arsenal’s William Saliba, Manuel Akanji, Antonio Rüdiger, Dani Carvajal, and others.

Oshoala, who has won the CAF Women’s Player of the Year crown for a record number of times was listed in the newly-introduced Marta Award. The prize is for the best goal in women’s football. She got into contention for that category for her acrobatic goal (while in Barcelona Femeni) against Benfica in the Women’s Champions League in November 2024.

Her compatriot and Southampton forward Onuachu earned a place for the male version – the Puskas. His deft flick in Trabzonspor’s 2-1 win over Konyaspor on November 10, 2023, was enough to put him in contention for the best goal gong in men’s football.

Meanwhile, Lionel Messi headlined the men’s best player nominees. The Inter Miami forward’s inclusion has sparked debates among football fans. The Argentine will vie for the prize alongside Ballon d’Or winner Rodri; Vinicius Junior; Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, Toni Kroos, and Federico Valverde.

Fans and an expert panel are expected to vote for the 2024 FIFA Best Awards. Fans can vote on the FIFA website up until December 2024.

FIFA Best Awards Nominees

The Best FIFA Men’s Player nominees
Dani Carvajal (Spain), Real Madrid
Erling Haaland (Norway), Manchester City
Federico Valverde (Uruguay), Real Madrid
Florian Wirtz (Germany), Bayer Leverkusen
Jude Bellingham (England), Real Madrid
Kylian Mbappe (France), Paris Saint-Germain/Real Madrid
Lamine Yamal (Spain), Barcelona
Lionel Messi (Argentina), Inter Miami
Rodri (Spain), Manchester City
Toni Kroos (Germany), Real Madrid (now retired)
Vinicius Jr (Brazil), Real Madrid

The Best FIFA Women’s Player nominees
Aitana Bonmati (Spain), Barcelona
Barbra Banda (Zambia), Shanghai Shengli/Orlando Pride
Caroline Graham Hansen (Norway), Barcelona
Keira Walsh (England), Barcelona
Khadija Shaw (Jamaica), Manchester City
Lauren Hemp (England), Manchester City
Lindsey Horan (USA), Olympique Lyonnais
Lucy Bronze (England), Barcelona/Chelsea
Mallory Swanson (USA), Chicago Red Stars
Mariona Caldentey (Spain), Barcelona/Arsenal
Naomi Girma (USA), San Diego Wave
Ona Batlle (Spain), Barcelona
Salma Paralluelo (Spain), Barcelona
Sophia Smith (USA), Portland Thorns
Tabitha Chawinga (Malawi), Paris Saint-Germain/Olympique Lyonnais
Trinity Rodman (USA), Washington Spirit

The Best FIFA Women’s Coach nominees
Arthur Elias (Brazil), Brazil
Elena Sadiku (Sweden), Celtic
Emma Hayes (England), Chelsea/USA
Futoshi Ikeda (Japan), Japan
Gareth Taylor (England), Manchester City
Jonatan Giraldez (Spain), Barcelona/Washington Spirit
Sandrine Soubeyrand (France), Paris FC
Sonia Bompastor (France), Olympique Lyonnais/Chelsea

The Best FIFA Men’s Coach nominees
Carlo Ancelotti (Italy), Real Madrid
Lionel Scaloni (Argentina), Argentina
Luis de la Fuente (Spain), Spain
Pep Guardiola (Spain), Manchester City
Xabi Alonso (Spain), Bayer Leverkusen

The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper nominees
Alyssa Naeher (USA), Chicago Red Stars
Ann-Katrin Berger (Germany), Chelsea/NJ/NY Gotham
Ayaka Yamashita (Japan), INAC Kobe Leonessa/Manchester City
Cata Coll (Spain), Barcelona
Mary Earps (England), Manchester United/Paris Saint-Germain

The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper nominees
Andriy Lunin (Ukraine), Real Madrid
David Raya (Spain), Arsenal
Ederson (Brazil), Manchester City
Emiliano Martinez (Argentina), Aston Villa
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy), Paris Saint-Germain
Mike Maignan (France), AC Milan
Unai Simon (Spain), Athletic Club

Related Topics:awards Ekong FIFA Lookman Nigerians Nominees Onoucha Oshoala

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Israel Says Struck Two Naval Missile Production Sites In Tehran

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2 hours ago

March 25, 2026

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The Israeli military announced on Wednesday it had struck two naval cruise missile production facilities operating under Iran’s ministry of defence in Tehran.

“In recent days, the Israeli air force acting on IDF intelligence struck two key naval cruise missile production sites in Tehran,” the military said.

It said the facilities were used to “develop and manufacture long-range naval cruise missiles, which are capable of rapidly destroying targets at sea and on land”.

The strikes “represent another step in deepening the damage done to the regime’s military production infrastructure”, the military added.

Last week, the military announced its fighter jets had struck several Iranian naval ships in the Caspian Sea, including vessels equipped with anti-submarine missiles.

AFP

International News

2025 ‘Deadliest Year’ Yet For Red Sea Migrants, UN Reports 922 Deaths

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3 hours ago

March 25, 2026

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The number of migrants who died on the “Eastern Route” from the Horn of Africa to the Arabian Peninsula doubled to a record high of 922 last year, the UN migration agency said Wednesday.

Tens of thousands of migrants from Ethiopia, Somalia and neighbouring countries take the route across the Red Sea each year, mostly from Djibouti to Yemen, in search of work as labourers or domestic workers in wealthy Gulf countries.

“2025 was the deadliest year ever recorded on the Eastern migration route… with 922 people dead or missing — double the number from the previous year,” Tanja Pacifico, head of mission for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Djibouti, told AFP.

The majority of victims were from Ethiopia, the second most-populous country in Africa with more than 130 million people. It is plagued by multiple internal conflicts and deep poverty.

“IOM remains fully committed to working alongside the government of Djibouti to promote safe and dignified migration pathways, in order to prevent further tragedies,” said Pacifico.

Many migrants who cross the Red Sea find themselves stuck in Yemen, the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula, which has been embroiled in a civil war for nearly a decade, and some even choose to return.

Rapid economic growth in Ethiopia — estimated to reach around 10 percent in 2026 — could encourage less migration, IOM says, but that is mitigated by high inflation, also around 10 percent in February.

AFP

International News

Denmark Faces Lengthy Negotiations To Form A Government

Published

3 hours ago

March 25, 2026

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Election workers recount ballots in the Marselisborg Hallen in Aarhus, Denmark on March 25, 2026. (Photo by Mikkel Berg Pedersen / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP) /

Denmark’s political parties began the thorny process of forming a government Wednesday, with the centrist Moderates as kingmaker after the prime minister’s Social Democrats scraped through a general election without a majority.

Greenland’s Inuit Ataqatigiit party member Naaja Nathanielsen (C) looks on in a polling station in Nuuk, on March 24, 2026, during the parliamentary election in Denmark (Photo by Oscar Scott Carl / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP) / Denmark OUT

Danes were braced for a weeks-long process as Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen seeks to consolidate power in the deeply splintered parliament after Tuesday’s snap vote.

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen arrives at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen to inform the king about the election result one day after the parliamentary election on March 25, 2026. (Photo by Martin Sylvest / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP)

A left-wing bloc made up of five parties, including Frederiksen’s Social Democrats, won 84 seats; the right-wing and far-right claimed 77; and the Moderates won 14 in the election.

The Social Democrats posted their worst election score since 1903—though they remained Denmark’s largest single party, with 38 seats in the 179-seat parliament.

Chairwoman of the Social Democrats Mette Frederiksen attends a party leader debate hosted by Publicists’ Club one the day after the parliamentary election at the Confederation of Danish Industry’s building in Copenhagen on March 25, 2026. (Photo by Liselotte Sabroe / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP)

Frederiksen formally tendered her coalition government’s resignation to King Frederik on Wednesday, telling a televised party leader debate she wanted to try to form a centre-left government.

“The most realistic scenario” would be a coalition with the five parties on the left and the centre-right Moderates, she said.

But it is not certain the Moderates, led by Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, would agree to that.

“I don’t believe that Denmark needs policies aligned with” the leftist Red-Green Alliance, Lokke said.

Chairman of the Moderates Lars Loekke Rasmussen attends a party leader debate at the Confederation of Danish Industry’s building in Copenhagen on March 25, 2026, the day after the parliamentary election. (Photo by Liselotte Sabroe / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP) / Denmark OUT

King Frederik was to meet party leaders individually later Wednesday to determine who should be asked to try to form the next government.

“My expectation is that Mette Frederiksen will become prime minister,” University of Copenhagen political science professor Rune Stubager told reporters.

“But I don’t know with the backing of which parties, like the left wing or the right wing,” he said.

He noted that Lokke, a two-time former prime minister, would likely vie for the position of prime minister, even though he has adamantly denied any interest in the job.

“Danes want me and not another prime minister. I still have the backing to be able to continue on behalf of the Danish people,” Frederiksen insisted during the debate.

Frederiksen has for the past four years headed an unprecedented left-right coalition made up of her Social Democrats, the Moderates and the Liberals.

The Liberals have refused to continue in a Social Democrat-led government.

‘Too Hard To Say’

Danes are now prepared for long negotiations. After the 2022 election, the talks lasted six weeks.

“It’s a long process, which means the government won’t be formed and it will be quite difficult to pass laws during this period,” lamented Jesper Dyrfjeld Christensen, a 54-year-old engineer.

“It’s really too hard to say who will be part of the coalition,” admitted Stubager.

With 12 parties in parliament, the political landscape is jagged — though Denmark is accustomed to minority governments.

“To some extent, this is the way Danish politics works. You have a minority government in the centre which forms a majority with the left on some issues and with the right on others,” he explained.

The negotiations are expected to focus on economic and pension issues, pollution and immigration, he said.

The traditional far-right party, the Danish People’s Party, which has heavily influenced policy since the late 1990s but slumped in the 2022 election, more than tripled its result to 9.1 per cent of votes.

The three anti-immigration groups together garnered 17 per cent, a stable figure for Denmark’s populist right over the past two decades.

“If negotiations take place in the left-wing bloc with the moderates, then there will be more focus on green issues than on immigration,” Stubager said.

“But if, instead, the Moderates negotiate with the parties on the right, then the central issue will be immigration.”

Four seats in Denmark’s parliament are held by its two autonomous territories — two for Greenland and two for the Faroe Islands.

While the Faroese renewed the mandates of the two outgoing lawmakers, with one for each bloc, Greenland overwhelmingly backed the left-wing party and Naleraq, which advocates rapid independence from Denmark.

AFP