Kojo Williams Blames Nigeria’s Poor Results For Osimhen’s CAF Awards Snub

Former Nigeria Football Association chairman Kojo Williams has attributed Nigeria’s absence from the 2026 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Men’s and Women’s Player of the Year nomination lists to the country’s poor performances over the past year, insisting that the governing body should not be blamed.

Williams made the remarks on ThePlayzone podcast following CAF’s release of the nominees for the two prestigious individual awards without a single Nigerian representative.

He argued that the omission reflected the national teams’ failure to achieve significant results on the continental and global stages rather than any deliberate attempt by CAF to overlook Nigerian players.

The Super Eagles failed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and finished third at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, while the Super Falcons also missed out on qualification for the FIFA Women’s World Cup and failed to finish among the top three at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.

According to Williams, individual recognition at continental level is often influenced by team achievements, making Nigeria’s absence from the nomination lists understandable given the country’s recent record.

He maintained that Nigeria could not expect automatic representation at the awards without the results and performances to justify such recognition.

The omission of Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen from the men’s shortlist generated particular attention, considering his performances for Turkish champions Galatasaray and the national team.

Osimhen scored four goals at the 2025 AFCON and helped Galatasaray retain their Turkish Super Lig title.

Williams acknowledged the striker’s quality and achievements in Europe but suggested that several considerations, including club profile and the strength of the league in which a player competes, could influence award selections.

He also recalled that Osimhen had previously won the African Player of the Year award while playing for Italian side Napoli, stressing that the Nigerian remains one of the continent’s outstanding footballers.

However, Williams insisted that Osimhen’s individual quality should not overshadow the broader performance of Nigeria’s national teams when assessing the country’s absence from this year’s nominations.

CAF’s 10-man shortlist for the Men’s African Player of the Year award includes Yoane Wissa, Ismael Saibari, Achraf Hakimi, Ismaïla Sarr and Amad Diallo, among others.

Nigeria’s failure to secure nominations in both categories has renewed discussions about the country’s declining influence in African football and the need to improve performances at national-team level.