Ademola Lookman Explains Why He Toured Lagos With His CAF POTY Award

• Ademola Lookman was named the CAF Men's Player of the Year at a ceremony in Morocco in December
• Lookman has only been to Nigeria once since then, during the March international break vs Zimbabwe
• The Atalanta forward is currently on holiday in Lagos, where he is touring with his 2025 CAF POTY Award

Reigning African Footballer of the Year Ademola Lookman is on holiday in Nigeria for the first time since he won the 2024 CAF Men's Player of the Year Award in December 2025.

Lookman was crowned the African Best at the yearly CAF Awards ceremony held at Palais des Congres in Marrakech, beating Achraf Hakimi and Serhou Guirassy to it.

Since then, he had only visited Nigeria once, during the March international break for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier group stage match against Zimbabwe, which ended 1-1 in Uyo.

Lookman speaks about switching to Nigeria

Lookman represented England at youth levels before switching his international allegiance to represent Nigeria in February 2022 after FIFA's approval.

He acknowledged that the decision changed his career, having played in the final of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, won the Europa League with Atalanta, scoring a hat-trick in the final, before winning the CAF POTY after the switch.

“Without doubt. It changed my career and my life. People know that. This is my home, this is my place, Nigeria. I am the son of the soil,” he told Arise News.

“It’s amazing. It’s a privilege to have this,” he added about winning the CAF POTY. “I take it with real pride because I saw many great players and the likes of the big players in the world. This award, for me to be among them, is a blessing.”

Why Lookman came to Nigeria

As seen in photos shared on his Instagram page, the 27-year-old is in Nigeria with his award for the first time since winning it and has been visiting places in Lagos.

He met with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during his time in Lagos, and he explained that he brought his award to Nigeria as a symbolic gesture to where he spent time as a kid.

“I’m bringing it back home now to Lagos. I went to Phase 2, I spent a lot of time there as a kid. That’s where I’m bringing it back to Lagos today,” he said.

“It’s a privilege to present it to the President.”

Lookman had a mixed season with Atalanta. Even though they qualified for the UEFA Champions League next season, they failed to hold it down in the title race, eventually falling off.

He is expected to leave the club this summer after three seasons, having been denied a move to PSG last summer. His public fallout with Gian Piero Gasperini heightened talks around his exit.

Chelle snubs Lookman and Osimhen

Legit.ng previously reported that Eric Chelle snubbed Victor Osimhen and Lookman from the Super Eagles squad for the 2025 Unity Cup and friendly match against Russia.

Both players were allowed to miss the games. Nigeria won the Unity Cup after beating Ghana in the semi-final and Jamaica in the final on penalties after a 2-2 draw in 90 minutes.

Source: Legit.ng