Atalanta and Nigeria striker Ademola Lookman, who finished 14th in the Ballon d'Or rankings, is the favourite to pick up the award.

Tunisia, South Africa, Gabon and Uganda also booked their places in the Africa Cup of Nations 2025.

The Nigerian team were held at an abandoned airport in Libya for more than 20 hours after their chartered flight landed Sunday.

Liverpool star Mohamed Salah scored as Egypt cruised to a 4-0 victory over Botswana on Tuesday as matchday two of 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying drew to a close.

Sebastien Haller scored a dramatic late winner as hosts Ivory Coast fought back to beat Victor Osimhen's Nigeria 2-1 in Sunday's Africa Cup of Nations final

The Africa Cup of Nations has produced a record 116 goals with two matches to go, but history suggests the final between hosts Ivory Coast and Nigeria on Sunday could be a low-scoring affair.

Victor Osimhen's Nigeria stand in the way of Ivory Coast in Sunday's Africa Cup of Nations final, as the tournament hosts aim to complete the most remarkable of turnarounds by lifting the trophy

Substitute forward Kelechi Iheanacho and goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali played key roles as Nigeria beat South Africa 4-2 on penalties on Wednesday in an Africa Cup of Nations semi-final thriller.

Victor Osimhen's Nigeria will aim to continue their formidable record at this Africa Cup of Nations when they take on South Africa in the semi-finals on Wednesday

A solitary Ademola Lookman goal was enough for Nigeria to beat Angola on Friday and qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals

Ademola Lookman scored twice for Nigeria and Gelson Dala bagged a brace for Angola on Saturday to send their countries into a Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals showdown.

Victor Osimhen levelled in the first half almost immediately after Iban Edu had opened the scoring for Equatorial Guinea.

Liverpool star Mohamed Salah scored four goals as Egypt trounced Djibouti 6-0

England forward Lauren James received a two-match ban from FIFA on Thursday for the stamp on Nigeria's Michelle Alozie that earned her a red card in the Women's World Cup last 16.

England's Lauren James will be suspended when the Lionesses face Colombia or Jamaica on Saturday for a place in the semi-finals as they aim to add the World Cup to their European crown.

England scraped into the quarter-finals of the Women's World Cup when they beat Nigeria 4-2 on penalties in Brisbane on Monday.

The two sides were locked 1-1 in the regulation time of the quarterfinal match at the DY Patil Stadium, which was delayed by nearly two hours due to adverse weather conditions

Former Nigeria and Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel announced his retirement after a long and decorated career on Tuesday, saying "all good things must come to an end"