KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 20 — Super League defending champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) dominated the nominations of the 2020 National Football Awards (ABK20), with 10 players from the team in the running for honours in the four main categories.
Four national players who play for JDT, defenders Aidil Zafuan Abd Radzak, La’Vere Corbin-Ong and Matthew Davies are in the running for the Best Defender Award, while midfielder Afiq Fazali is vying for the Best Midfielder Award.
Afiq’s three other teammates, midfielders Gonzalo Cabrera, Leandro Velazquez and Muhammad Safawi Rasid have also been nominated in the same category, while JDT goalkeeper Farizal Marlias is the team’s sole candidate for the Best Goalkeeper Award.
In addition, former JDT striker Diogo Luis Santo, who moved to Thai League club BG Pathum United FC, was also nominated along with young talent Ramadhan Saifullah Usman for Best Striker Award.
To round things up, JDT head coach Benjamin Mora is also in the running for the Best Coach Award. The ABK20 will take place virtually on Dec 30, according to an announcement posted on Facebook by the Malaysia Football League (MFL) today.
Fifty candidates comprising 40 players and 10 Malaysian League (M-League) coaches will compete for the Best Goalkeeper, Best Defender, Best Midfielder, Best Striker and Best Coach awards.
This year, candidates were chosen from 567 players and officials who competed in the M-League, including youth players registered for the President’s Cup and Youth Cup. The final 50 were shortlisted from a list of 334 individuals who fulfilled the selection criterion of at least 50 per cent participation in the entire M-League matches for the 2020 season.
The winners for the five main categories will be decided by a professional jury of 24 head coaches, 24 team captains and 24 media representatives that contribute 70 per cent of the total points.
The remaining 30 per cent will be decided by supporters through votes on the Elfo platform that will be displayed on all MFL social media channels, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, from 10 am tomorrow to 11.59 pm on Dec 25.
At the ABK20 ceremony, the MFL will also present the 2020 Golden Boot Award and the Super League Golden Boot Award to Selangor’s Nigerian import Ifedayo Olusegun Omosuyi, who scored 12 goals.
National striker Muhammad Shahrel Fikri Md Fauzi will receive the top local scorer award after scoring 10 goals for Perak in the Super League, while Penang striker Casagrande from Brazil will receive the Premier League Golden Boot Award after raking up nine goals this season.
Young Selangor II striker Ahmad Danial Ahmad Asri, who will be donning the Selangor jersey next season, will receive the 2020 Premier League local top scorer award with his seven-goal haul.
In addition, MFL has confirmed that several awards will not be contested in ABK20, including Best Young Player, Best Foreign Player, Best ASEAN Player, Best Supporter Club, Fans’ XI (supporters’ choice of the best eleven players), Most Popular Player, Best Team’s Website and Best Social Media.
Other awards not contested are the Media-Friendly Award, Community Award, Friendship Award, M3 League Best Player and Best Team, Most Promising Referee Award and Fair Play Award.
Full list of candidates for the five main categories of 2020 National Football Awards:
Best Goalkeeper:
Farizal Marlias (JDT), Mohd Iqbal Suhaimi (Kuching FA), Kalamullah Al-Hafiz Mat Rowi (Petaling Jaya City FC), Khairul Fahmi Che Mat (Melaka), Khairulazhan Khalid (Selangor), Remezey Che Ros (UKM FC), Samuel Somerville (Penang), Sharbinee Allawee Ramli (Pahang), Suhaimi Husin (Terengganu FC II), Zamir Selamat (Kuala Lumpur)
Best Defender:
Aidil Zafuan Abd. Radzak, La’Vere Corbin Ong and Matthew Davies (JDT), Azmi Muslim (Penang), Rafiuddin Roddin (Perak), Shahrul Nizam Ros Hasni (Kelantan), Shahrul Mohd Saad (Perak), Muhammad Shakir Hamzah (Kedah), Victor Nirennold (UiTM FC), Wan Amirul Afiq Wan Ab Rahman (Melaka)
Best Midfielder:
Muhd Afiq Fazail, Gonzalo Cabrera, Leandro Velazquez and Muhammad Safawi Rasid (JDT), Brendan Gan (Selangor), Faisal Abdul Halim dan Nor Azam Abdul Azih (Pahang), Leandro dos Santos (Perak), Lee Andrew Tuck (Terengganu FC), Muhammad Syahmi Safari (Selangor)
Best Striker:
Casagrande (Penang), Diogo Luis Santo and Ramadhan Saifullah Usman (JDT), Dominique da Sylva (Terengganu FC), Engku Nur Shakir Engku Yacob (Terengganu FC II), Fernando Rodriguez (JDT II), Francis Kone (Kuala Lumpur), Ifedayo Omosuyi Olusegun (Selangor), Muhammad Shahrel Fikri Md Fauzi (Perak), Brice Hermann Tchetche Kipre (Kedah)
Best Coach:
Aidil Sharin Sahak (Kedah), Akira Higashiyama (Kuching FA), Benjamin Mora (JDT), Frank Bernhardt (UiTM FC), Manzoor Azwira Abd Wahid (Penang), Mehmet Durakovic (Perak), Michael Feichtenbeiner (Selangor), Nafuzi Zain (Terengganu FC), Muhd Nidzam Adzha Yusoff (Kuala Lumpur), Yusri Che Lah (Kelantan). — Bernama
