Recently updated on July 3rd, 2020 at 05:28 pm
Victor Osimhen has emerged winner of the 2020 Marc-Vivien Foe prize, which crowns him as the best African player in French Ligue 1 for the 2019/2020 season.
The 21-year-old forward who scored 18 goals and recorded six assists in 38 appearances across all competitions during the campaign, becomes the youngest ever recipient of the Marc-Vivien Foe prize.
Named after late Cameroonian midfielder Marc-Vivien Foe, the late Cameroon and Olympique Lyonnais midfielder — twice an Africa Cup of Nations winner with the Indomitable Lions, passed away on the field during the 2003 Confederations Cup.
This yearly award is organized by Radio France International and France 24 to celebrate African players plying their trade in the French League.
Victor Osimhen saw off competition from his compatriot and Nantes Player of the Year Moses Simon and eight other African players to win the award.
Algerian Islam Slimani (Monaco) and Morrocan Yunis Abdelhamid (Stade de Reims) came second and third respectively.
Saint-Etienne’s Denis Bouanga, Montpellier’s Andy Delort, Rennes’ trio of Mbaye Niang, Hamari Traore and Edouard Mendy were also in the race for the top accolade.
The 2020 Marc-Vivien Foe prize is the second individual prize for Victor Osimhen, who was also voted Lille player of the season [2019/2020].
In the past include Ivory Coast forward Gervinho who won the Marc Vivien-Foe back-to-back in 2010 and 2011. Vincent Enyeama picked up the prize in 2014, while Sofiane Boufal was the winner in 2016.
Karl Toko Ekambi, Andre Ayew and Arsenal’s Pierre Merrick Aubameyang are also among the former winners.
Since his record-breaking performance at the 2015 Under-17 World Cup, where he scored ten (10) goals – the most by any player in a single tournament, Victor Osimhen has continued to impress.
He was also included in the Super Eagles team to face Brazil in a friendly match in Singapore on 13 October 2019 and also helped Nigeria to win bronze at the 2019 African Cup of Nations in Egypt.
