Super Eagles striker Tolu Arokodare has won the 2025 Ebony Shoe Award which honours the best African player or player of African descent in the Belgian Pro League.
The prestigious award, regarded as a recognition of outstanding African talents in Belgium, was presented during the 2025 African Awards gala at the Tangla Hotel in Brussels on Monday night.
Due to his impressive performances this campaign, Arokodare was nominated alongside Super Eagles midfielder Raphael Onyedika and former Nigeria youth international Promise David, as well as Union St. Gilloise’s Noah Sadiki and Genk teammate Zakaria El Ouahdi.
Although Genk have slipped out of contention for the Belgian Pro League title following a string of disappointing results, the 24-year-old has emerged as one of the league’s standout performers this season, netting 20 goals — only behind Adriano Bertaccini in the race for the golden boot — and registering a league-best 25 goal contributions.
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The Ebony Shoe Award is a testament to Arokodare’s impressive rise since joining Genk from Amiens in January 2023. Although he was slow to adapt, with just three goal contributions in his first 11 matches, Arokodare found his form in his first full season at the club, recording 17 goal contributions in 52 appearances.
The Genk striker becomes the sixth Nigerian to win the Ebony Shoe Award, following in the footsteps of Daniel Amokachi, Victor Ikpeba, Godwin Okpara, and Celestine Babayaro, who all claimed the prize between 1992 and 1996, while Paul Onuachu took home the honour in 2021.
It remains to be seen if Arokodare will stay at Genk beyond this season, as he has expressed a desire to play in the Premier League, with reported interest from Fulham and Newcastle.
In anticipation of a bid, Genk have set a €20 million price tag and are aiming to sell the Nigerian striker for that amount, making him the club’s joint-third most expensive departure, alongside Mike Penders, who moved to Chelsea and behind Bilal El Khannouss and Sander Berge, who joined Leicester City and Sheffield United respectively.
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