By Amaechi Agbo

Super Eagles duo of Victor Osimhen and Moses Simon will battle for the 2020 Marc Vivien Foe Prize Award after they were both nominated for the diadem in France, Bestchoicesports.com.ng reports.

The duo ended 2019/2020 French Ligue 1 on high for their respective clubs, Lille and Nantes, to merit listing for the award which has three Senegalese shortlisted.

Victor Osimhen ended the season with 13 goals and 4 assists and was included among the season’s best team while his compatriot, Moses Simon ended the season as Nantes Best Player.

The 2020 Marc Vivien Foe Prize nominees were on Friday unveiled in Paris with the winner set to be announced on June 29.

The Prize, organised by French media outlets RFI and France 24, is awarded to the best African player in France’s Ligue 1. The current holder of the title is Arsenal’s Nicolas Pepe who was awarded after a stellar season with Lille before moving to England.

This year’s cast includes Morocco’s Yunus Abdelhamid (Reims), Nigerians Victor Osimhen (Lille) and Moses Simon (Nantes). Others on the 11-man shortlist are Islam Slimani (Monaco) and Andy Delort (Montpellier).

Three Senegalese have also been shortlisted including Idrissa Gana Gueye (PSG), Edouard Mendy (Rennes), Habib Diallo (Metz) Mbaye Niang (Rennes). The last two nominees are Gabon’s Dennis Bouanga and Mali’s Hamari Traoré both from Rennes.

The first edition of the Prize was held in 2009 with Marouane Chamakh winning the inaugural award.

A statement from the organisers says they decided to go on with the awards even after the league was cancelled due to coronavirus.

“It seemed unfair to us not to award it and to deprive players, some of whom may be leaving France soon, of a reward for their efforts and their talent,” the statement read.

Marc-Vivien Foé Award: Past Winners

2009: Marouane Chamakh (Bordeaux / Morocco)

2010: Gervinho (Lille / Côte d’Ivoire)

2011: Gervinho (Lille / Côte d’Ivoire)

2012: Younès Belhanda (Montpellier / Morocco)

2013: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Saint-Etienne / Gabon)

2014: Vincent Enyeama (Lille / Nigeria)

2015: André Ayew (Marseille / Ghana)

2016: Sofiane Boufal (Lille / Morocco)

2017: Jean Mickaël Seri (Nice / Côte d’Ivoire )

2018: Karl Toko Ekambi (Angers SCO / Cameroon)

2019: Nicolas Pepe (Lille / Ivory Coast)

Marc-Vivien Foé slumped and died during an international match on June 26, 2003

Foé was part of the Cameroon squad for the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup. He played in wins against Brazil and Turkey, and was rested for the match against the United States, with Cameroon having already qualified.

On 26 June 2003, Cameroon faced Colombia in the semi-final, held at the Stade de Gerland in Lyon, France. In the 72nd minute of the match Foé collapsed in the centre circle with no other players near him.

 After attempts to resuscitate him on the pitch, he was stretchered off the field, where he received mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and oxygen. Medics spent 45 minutes attempting to restart his heart, and although he was still alive upon arrival at the stadium’s medical centre, he died shortly afterwards.

A first autopsy did not determine an exact cause of death, but a second autopsy concluded that Foé’s death was heart-related as it discovered evidence of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a hereditary condition known to increase the risk of sudden death during physical exercise.