10 hours Ago By Guardian Nigeria
Atalanta of Italy striker, Ademola Lookman, is aiming to dethrone his Super Eagles team mate, Victor Osimhen, as King of the Pitch in the 2025 Nigeria Pitch Awards scheduled to hold later this year. Also in contention for the top awards are Super Eagles captain, William Troost-Ekong and Nigerian National League chairman, George Aluo, who is among the candidates in the Sportsmanship category. At the official unveiling of the nominees for this year’s awards in Lagos on Thursday, president of the Nigeria Pitch Awards, Shina Philips, reaffirmed his organisation’s desire “to create an award platform that has a unique character of its own; a character moulded by our core values of transparency, credibility and integrity.
To achieve this, we have followed a carefully laid out award process which brings together a College of Voters comprising some of Nigeria’s most knowledgeable, experienced and professional sport journalists and an independent collation body. As organizers, we are very proud of and deeply appreciative of our College of Voters whose decisions year after year have shown them to be true and selfless patriots.” In the King of the Pitch category, Lookman and Osimhen will face stiff competition from Al-Kholood FC defender, William Troost-Ekong, while the Queen of the Pitch competition pits Super Falcons’ captain, Rasheedat Ajibade (Atlético de Madrid Femenino), Asisat Oshoala (Bay FC), and Chiamaka Nnadozie (Paris FC), three players who have continued to shine on the international stage.
In the Goalkeeper of the Year category are Maduka Okoye (Udinese Calcio), Stanley Nwabali (Chippa United), and Kayode Bankole (Remo Stars), while the Striker of the Year category features a highly competitive lineup, with Osimhen, Bayer Leverkusen’s Victor Boniface, and Lookman battling for the top honour. Fulham’s Alex Iwobi will battle with Frank Onyeka (FC Augsburg), and Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City) in the Midfielder of the Year category, the Coach of the Year award pitting Moses Adukwu (Edo Queens) against Fidelis Ilechukwu (Rangers International), and Daniel Ogunmodede (Remo Stars). Aluo, who has overseen a remarkable growth in the Nigerian National League since becoming its chairman a little over two years ago, is running for the Sportsmanship Award alongside Remo Stars chairman, Kunle Soname and Ahmed Musa of Kano Pillars FC.
Mr Philips reiterated the organisation’s commitment to ensuring that the awards remain free from external influence, with an independent collation process handled by SIAO Partners, a leading accounting and auditing firm in Nigeria. “Awards are not just about recognition; they serve as motivation for players and stakeholders to strive for excellence. Nigerian football has made significant strides globally, but there is always room for more achievements.
The Nigeria Pitch Awards will continue to support and celebrate those who make our football great,” he added. In the full list of nominees for the awards are Goalkeeper of The Year, Maduka Okoye (Udinese Calcio), Stanley Nwabali (Chippa United) and Kayode Bankole (Remo Stars); Defender Of The Year, Ola Aina (Nottingham Forest), William Troost-Ekong (Al-kholood, Saudi Arabia) and Calvin Bassey (Fulham); Midfielder Of The Year, Alex Iwobi (Fulham), Frank Onyeka (FC Augsburg) and Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City) and Striker Of The Year, Victor Osimhen (Galatasaray), Victor Boniface (Bayer 04 Leverkusen) and Ademola Lookman (Atalanta). Also listed for awards are Team Of The Year, Remo Stars, Enugu Rangers and Edo Queens; Coach Of The Year, Moses Adukwu (Edo Queens), Fidelis Ilechukwu (Enugu Rangers) and Daniel Ogunmodede (Remo Stars); and the Sam Okwaraji Award, Segun Odegbami (Nigerian Ex-International), Ahmed Musa (Kano Pillars) and Kunle Soname (Bet9ja).
In the State With The Best Grassroots Football Development Programme category are Edo, Lagos and Delta, while the Football Pitch Of The Year contenders are Remo Stars Stadium, Ogun State, Mobolaji Johnson Sport Arena, Onikan, Lagos State and Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. There is also a category for the Football Friendly GOVERNOR, which has Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom and Godwin Obaseki of Edo as the nominees, just as GTI Financial (Financial Services), MTN Nigeria (telecommunications) and Bet9ja are the nominees for the Corporate Sponsor of The Year award..
