Super Eagles duo of Ademola Lookman and William Troost-Ekong have been dropped from the FIFPRO World XI in the list of finalist made available by the organizers of the award, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
They were both included in the initial list of players to be considered in the World XI with Lookman getting a look in on account of his performance last season, where he scored a hattrick in the UEFA Europa League final to help Atalanta to a 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the final.
Ekong had an outstanding performance for Nigeria at the AFCON where he was voted as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) despite the Super Eagles losing in the final 1-2 to the host Cote d’ Ivoire.
Despite their achievements their names was conspicuously missing from the list made available by the organizers of the award on their official website.
The FIFPRO World 11 is an annual award that recognizes the best men’s and women’s football teams of the year. It is the only global football award that is decided exclusively by professional footballers. The award was established in 2005 by FIFPRO, but was rebranded as the FIFA FIFPRO World 11 in 2009 when FIFPRO partnered with FIFA. Starting with the 2024 edition, FIFPRO will independently manage the award and return to its original name.
The World 11 is made up of the goalkeeper, three defenders, three midfielders, and three forwards who receive the most votes. The remaining outfield player with the next highest number of votes is also selected for the World 11.
