Nigerian football stars, Ademola Lookman, Asisat Oshoala and William Troost-Ekong have been shortlisted for best attacker and best defender categories, respectively, of the 20024 FIFA Best awards. Ademola Lookman, Wiliam Troost-Ekong, and Asisat Oshoala were among the nominees from Nigeria announced by FIFA on Friday, November 29. Lookman, who ranked 14th in the recently held 2024 Ballon d’Or ceremony, was shortlisted in the Best Attacker category alongside Vinicius Junior, Lamine Yamal, Bukayo Saka, Erling Haaland, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, among others. Troost-Ekong will compete in the Best Defender category against Dani Carvajal, Antonio Rüdiger, William Saliba, Achraf Hakimi, Manuel Akanji, Jonathan Tah and many more. Oshoala was nominated for the newly introduced Marta Award for the best goal in women’s football. The 30-year-old’s acrobatic strike for Barcelona Femeni against Benfica in the women’s Champions League in November 2023 got the nomination. Rodri and Vinicius will again compete against each other for the men’s best player award. The duo were nominated alongside nine other players, including Jude Bellingham, Mbappe, Toni Kroos and Federico Valverde. Rodri was crowned the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner in October, a decision that was met with criticism from fans. Votes for the 2024 FIFA Best awards will be weighted equally between fans and an expert panel. Fans can cast their votes on the FIFA website until 10 December 2024. (FULL LIST)
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 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 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
