Reigning Johnny Warren medallist and Glory MGP Diego Castro is one of 10 local and international Hyundai A-League players nominated to scoop this year’s the highest honour from Professional Footballers Australia: the Footballer of the Year award.
Having previously been won by the likes of Mark Schwarzer, Mile Jedinak and Robbie Kruse, the 2015/16 nominees, as selected by the PFA Awards Committee, was made-up of Socceroos greats and leading figures in the football media.
The nominees include:
- Diego Castro;
- Buno Fornaroli;
- Aaron Mooy;
- Jamie Maclaren;
- Tim Cahill;
- Tom Rogic;
- Mark Milligan;
- Mat Ryan;
- Matthieu Delpierre; and
- Mat Leckie.
Voted on by all of the PFA’s female members, the 2015/16 PFA Women’s Footballer of the Year nominees list features five stars of the Matildas outstanding Olympic Games qualification campaign. The nominees are:
- Emily van Egmond;
- Lydia Williams;
- Alanna Kennedy;
- Elise Kellond-Knight; and
- Caitlin Foord
Recognising outstanding achievement by an U23 footballer playing in the A-League or Australian based overseas, the nominees list is dominated by the young stars who lit up the 2015/16 A-League season. The nominees are:
- Jamie Maclaren;
- Jason Geria;
- Stefan Mauk;
- Alex Gersbach;
- Dimitri Petratos; and
- Jimmy Jeggo.
PFA President Alex Wilkinson paid tribute to the nominees and said all were worthy of the recognition.
“The nominees list highlights the quality of players we continue to produce, their capacity to play at the highest levels of the sport and the increasingly important role played by our premier domestic competitions in developing our top footballers,” said Wilkinson.
“The recognition of your peers is the highest honour you can receive as a player and one that is cherished by all.
“Some of the greats of our game are among the previous winners and I have little doubt that these nominees will continue to have a major impact on the sport.
“Finally, I would like to thank LUCRF Super and Travellers Choice for their continued support of the players.”
The 2016 PFA Awards will be held on December 6 at Crown Casino, Melbourne.
For more information or to purchase your ticket to the event go to: https://www.trybooking.com/Booking/BookingEventSummary.aspx?eid=234961
