Nasarawa United of Lafia star, Anas Yusuf will have his eyes on a remarkable part of history next month, when he goes out against Galatasaray of Turkey hitman, Victor Osimhen and Atletico Madrid of Spain winger, Ademola Lookman for the award of Nigeria’s best striker.
Sports247 reports that Yusuf will hope to pull off an unlikely victory by a home-based player over two of Nigeria’s biggest stars of the current dispensation, with Osimhen having won the African Footballer of The Year award in 2023, while Lookman took the same gong the following year.
Read Also: Onome Ebi Pledges Unflinching Efforts Towards Creating Awareness About Beach Soccer, Futsal
It promises to be an interesting part of the upcoming 12th Nigeria Pitch Awards ceremony, which is scheduled to hold on 8th September at Ibis Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, which organisers believe will inspire a revival of the country’s national teams after recent setbacks.
Nigeria Pitch Awards president, Dr. Shina Philips disclosed that this year’s roll call will feature 18 categories, to be headlined by King of The Pitch, in which Osimhen and Lookman face competition from Fulham of England defender, Calvin Bassey.
Anas Yusuf will also hope to edge Lookman and Osimhen for the Rashidi Yekini Award for Best Striker of the Year, while Queen of The Pitch will be a tussle among Chiamaka Nnadozie of Brighton of England, Esther Okoronkwo of AFC Toronto of Canada and Rasheedat Ajibade from PSG of France.
While also revealing that the award for Football Friendly Governor of the Year will be among Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, Dapo Abiodun of Ogun and Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom, Philips expressed regrets in the delay of hosting the 12th edition of the awards.
He pointed out that, although the trophies and other logistics were already in place, certain factors necessitated postponing the ceremony beyond the intial planned date, but concluded on a note of optimism that the delayed event will become exciting than others before it.
Philips declared enthusiastically, “We have absolute confidence in our footballers who are doing well in various leagues across Europe, America, Africa and other parts of the world.
“Since 2013, when we held our maiden edition in Calabar, we have shown Nigerians that our players deserve commendations and encouragement for their selfless and patriotic contributions to the growth of our football.
“All necessary logistics, including the award statuettes, were in place, but the awards itself could not be held as earlier scheduled. Hosting the 12th Awards Ceremony at this time is a demonstration of our faith in Nigerian football.”
