Victor Osimhen, the current King of the Pitch, and Asisat Oshoala, the current Queen of the Pitch, both have a strong chance of keeping their titles at the 9th Nigeria Pitch Awards on Friday.
The Great Margaret Hall of the John Woods Hotel in Abuja will be the site of the ceremony for this year’s event. One of the top goal scorers in the world right now is Osimhen, who has scored 23 goals in 28 games for Italian Serie A team Napoli this season.
His four goals have assisted the Italian club in making its first-ever appearance in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals.
In a 2023 AFCON qualifying game at Agadir, Morocco, nine months ago, his four goals against Sao Tome and Principe were important in Nigeria’s record-breaking 10-0 victory.
The gangly young forward most recently took home Italy’s accolades for Best Foreign Athlete and Player of the Month. He competes for the prestigious award against Ademola Lookman, Alex Iwobi, and Paul Onuachu.
With 20 goals, Oshoala, a star player for Barcelona in Spain’s top division, won the Pichichi Award as the league’s joint-highest goalscorer, helping her team win both the league championship and the Spanish Super Cup. She is competing against Gift Monday and Rasheedat Ajibade of the Super Falcons.
The winners in the following 18 categories will be announced on Friday night: King or Queen of the Field, Player or Player of the Year, Goalkeeper or Player of the Year, Defender or Player of the Year, Midfielder or Player of the Year, or Team of the Year;
The Nigeria U17 team Flamingos, bronze medalists at the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in India, competes against Remo Stars and Rivers United for Team of the Year, and Rivers United’s Stanley Eguma is at the top of the list for Coach of the Year, which also includes Gbenga Ogunbote and Bankole Olowookere.
