Former Nigeria Football Association president Kojo Williams says Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen’s absence from the 2026 CAF Awards shortlist comes down to Nigeria’s results, and possibly to the league he now plays in.
Osimhen, the 2023 CAF Men’s Player of the Year, was left out of this year’s nominations, and Nigeria have no nominee in any of the men’s categories for a ceremony the country itself is hosting.
The CAF Awards in Lagos have been brought forward to Wednesday 2 December, the first time the event has been staged in the city since 2014.
Williams: ‘It all has to do with our performances’
Williams gave his view on ThePlayzone podcast, as reported by Legit.ng, and he did not pretend to be shocked.
It won’t be fair to me to say that I am surprised, but it all has to do with our performances.
He pointed straight at the Super Eagles’ record over the last cycle.
So if we’re not doing the right thing, of course, they won’t pick us. Did we qualify for the World Cup? We didn’t win the AFCON. You cannot fault that.
Williams also suggested Osimhen’s club setting worked against him when set beside rivals at Europe’s biggest sides.
Yes, Victor did well in Europe, but you had the other guys from other teams like PSG, and maybe the league he’s playing in.
He was quick to add that Osimhen’s standing is not in question, recalling that the striker won African Footballer of the Year while at Napoli.
Where the snub leaves Osimhen
The omission stings because Nigeria finished third at AFCON 2025, and three Super Eagles players made the official Team of the Tournament. Osimhen is also out of the current international window, recovering from the knee surgery that has kept him out of the Tanzania double-header.
Analysis: Williams has a point, but only half of one
Williams is right that individual awards in Africa rarely ignore national-team results. A bronze medal at AFCON 2025 was respectable, but missing the World Cup is the line voters remember, and it hangs over every Nigerian candidate this year.
The league argument is weaker. Osimhen was African Footballer of the Year while at Napoli, and his move to Galatasaray has kept him in the Champions League, where the strongest African candidates are usually judged. If the Turkish Süper Lig counts against him, it says more about how voters weigh leagues than about his goals.
The more useful lesson is the first one. Nigeria’s way back onto these shortlists runs through the Super Eagles, starting with the AFCON 2027 qualifiers against Tanzania in Uyo on Friday.
