Joy Sports's Gary Al-Smith reports from Abuja that there is an expectation that Nigeria will win key awards at the 2015 Glo-CAF gala which will be held at the city's International Conference Centre on Thursday from 1800 GMT.

Nigeria is well represented on the list of nominees for different awards. The country's U-23 team, which won the 2nd Africa U-23 Cup of Nations in Senegal, in the process qualifying for the 2016 Olympics football tournament in Rio de Janeiro, is nominated in the category of ‘National Team of the Year’.

Also nominated in the category is the victorious U-17 Golden Eaglets team that won the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile.

Azubuike Okechukwu, who captained the Nigeria U-23 to glory in Senegal and was selected the Most Valuable Player, is nominated for ‘Most Promising Talent’ alongside team-mate Etebo Oghenekaro (below), who finished the tournament as top scorer.

Golden Eaglets’ head coach, Emmanuel Amuneke (below), is listed for ‘Coach of the Year,’ while his players, Kelechi Nwakali and Victor Osimhen are in consideration for ‘Youth Player of the Year.’

Eaglets’ captain Nwakali was named the Most Valuable Player of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, with Osimhen the top scorer of all time with 10 goals.

Super Falcons’ defender Ngozi Ebere is nominated for ‘Women Player of the Year.’

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