Victor Osimhen was met with resounding applause and a standing ovation from his Super Eagles teammates on Friday, in recognition of his achievement as the 2023 African Footballer of the Year.
The team, which gathered for a roundtable meeting at their Abu Dhabi camp in preparation for AFCON 2023 in Cote d’Ivoire, invited the Napoli and Super Eagles striker to share his thoughts on his victory.
As he stepped forward, the entire squad rose to their feet, applauding and celebrating the player who had been crowned Africa’s best for the year 2023.
Osimhen, visibly moved, addressed the team, saying, “First of all, thank you so much, i appreciate you all. I received a lot of private messages from every one of you here. I saw a lot of comments. I want to say thank you so much for your support. It means a lot to me; it goes a long way. This win is not just for me alone, it is also for the rest of my teammates, both Super Eagles and Napoli.
“I appreciate the coach for his confidence, thank you so much. The most important thing now is for us to go to Ivory Coast and do so well , as well as winning the tournament. I believe in this group, we have bunch of talented players to execute the job, fingers crossed and i know we are going to do so well.”
Ahmed Musa, the captain of the Super Eagles, also extended his congratulations to Osimhen, stating, “On behalf of the team, we congratulate you once again. If you recall, I always told you in Egypt that patience is key, and with patience, you can achieve a lot. This is just the start of our collective success in the team. We look forward to more victories like this for the team, and I wish you the best of luck.”