Super Eagles coach Augustine Eguavoen and captain William Troost-Ekong did not vote Ademola Lookman in their top three picks for the FIFA POTY Award, Soccernet.ng reports.

Lookman won the CAF Player of the Year on Monday. But just a day later, he was snubbed at the FIFA Awards, as he didn’t not get a single vote.

Real Madrid star Vinicius Jnr emerged as the winner, while Manchester City star Rodri, who won the Ballon d’Or emerged second. English midfielder Jude Bellingham was third.

The FIFA Awards are always decided by votes from players, coaches, and journalists from all FIFA associated federations. All the voters are allowed to pick just three of the nominees, with specific points awarded to the first, second, and third picks.

Interestingly, even though Nigeria had three representatives －Eguavoen, Troost-Ekong, and a top journalist Oluwashina Okeleji, Lookman did not get a single vote.

Coach Eguavoen voted Lionel Messi in first position, Vinicius Jnr. second, and Rodri third. Troost-Ekong voted Bellingham first, Vinicius Jnr second, and Rodri third. Then, Oluwashina voted Vinicius Jnr. first, Rodri second, and Bellingham third.

Everyone that was named in the top eleven got votes from their countries. Nonetheless, Lookman would still be happy, as he won the CAF Player of the Year award on Monday.

The Atalanta star will look to continue with his impressive performances and get more nominations for top Awards.

soccernet

The Confederation of African Football have announced the draw for the 2025 AFCON finals will be held on January 27 in Rabat, Morocco.

The draw dates were announced following a CAF executive committee meeting held yesterday in the North African country.

The meeting was followed by a gathering of the 54 CAF member associations to discuss the development of football in Africa, including strengthening partnerships with governments, FIFA, other confederations, and the private sector. CAF president Patrice Motsepe revealed the opening match of the 2025 AFCON finals will be played on December 21, 2025, and the final on January 18, 2026.

The qualifiers for the AFCON tournament were concluded last month with 24 countries securing qualification for the tournament.

Zimbabwe qualified for the AFCON finals last month as runners-up of Group J of the qualifiers, won by Cameroon.

The Warriors will be making a sixth appearance at the tournament, having missed the previous edition due to a FIFA suspension.

However, the Warriors will be among the unseeded teams due to their low ranking. Zimbabwe are currently ranked 121 in the world, having dropped four places last month.

Along with neighbours Botswana, they are currently the two least ranked teams among the 24 nations that qualified for the 2025 AFCON finals.

The next rankings will be released on Thursday this week. The CAF committee also outlined schedules for key youth and women’s football tournaments, including the Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations, which will be hosted by Morocco in March-April 2025, and the Under-20 edition set for Cote d’Ivoire in April-May. Other major competitions in the packed calendar, including the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup, also had their final match dates confirmed, with decisive games planned for May and June 2025.

CAF Key dates:

U17 Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025: The opening match will be played on Sunday, 30 March 2025; the final match will be played on Saturday, 19 April 2025.

U20 Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2025 – The opening match will be played on Saturday, 26 April 2025; the final match will be played on Sunday, 18 May 2025.

CAF Confederation Cup 2024-25: Final, First Leg will be played Saturday, 17 May 2025; Final, Second Leg will be played Sunday, 25 May 2025

CAF Champions League 2024-25: Final, First Leg will be played Saturday, 24 May 2025; Final, Second Leg will be played Sunday, 1 June 2025

CAF Women’s Champions League 2025: The opening match will be played on Saturday, 8 November 2025; the final match will be played on Sunday, 23 November 2025.

Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025: The opening match will be played on Sunday, 21 December 2025; the final match will be played on Sunday, 18 January 2026.

allafrica

In a communique signed and released by Chairman of PFAN Board of Trustees, Comrade Harrison Jalla, the President of the Professional Footballers Association of Nigeria (PFAN), Comrade Tijani Babangida (MON), has been nominated by the PFAN Board of Trustees (BOT) to represent the association on the National Sports Commission (NSC) Board.

This nomination, according to PFAN, aligns with Section 2 of the National Sports Commission (Establishment) Act 2023.

At a meeting held on Saturday, 23rd November 2024, the PFAN BOT, made two significant decisions:

1. Extension of Leadership Tenure: The BOT unanimously agreed to extend the tenure of the Tijani Babangida led Executive Council.

2. NSC Board Representation: Tijani Babangida was chosen as the PFAN representative on the National Sports Commission Board.

These decisions are, however, subject to ratification by the PFAN Congress.

The BOT also advised the PFAN Executive Council, to reach out to aggrieved members and unify the players’ union under one umbrella, in line with the standard practice in other countries.

It also deliberated about the ongoing efforts and legal challenges. The PFAN BOT emphasized that the next critical phase involves securing representation on the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Board, Congress, and Sub-Committees. These slots, are currently subject to the ongoing case at the Federal High Court in Abuja, which seeks equal and proportional representation.

The BOT also assured stakeholders that representation on the NFF Board, would strictly be based on merit.