by The Malta Football Association Annual awards were held yesterday at the Dolmen Hotel, in a ceremony that lasted just under fourty-five minutes. Jade Flask and Matthew Guillaumier were awarded MFA Footballer of the Year Award respectively, with several accolades being also given to youth players, goalscorers, and the best coach, amongst others.
Awards
Youth Player Awards
There were two categories dedicated to young players. The ‘Best Youth League Player’ awards went to Nathan Agius (Mosta FC) and Sara Saliba (Birkirkara FC). Meanwhile, Andrea Zammit, who plies his trade for Valletta FC won the ‘Best Young Player of the Year’ award.
Gozo FA Player of the Year
The award, chosen by the Gozo FA and the Malta FA, went to Maria Farrugia who plays for Durham Women in the Women’s Championship in England, whilst also making appearances for the senior national team of Malta.
Best Izibet Amateur League and BOV Challenge League Players
Mgarr United’s Christian Saint Ebisindor won the Izibet Amateur League Best Player award, whilst also being awarded as the ‘Best Goalscorer’ in the division. Meanwhile Lydon Micallef of Sliema Wanderers claimed the BOV Challenge League award.
Best Goalscorers and Best Goal Awards
The ‘Best Goalscorer’ award for the Assikura Women’s League went to Jade Flask who topped the list with 19 goals for Swieqi United. Meanwhile, Jefferson De Assis of Gzira United was awarded best goalscorer in the BOV Premier League after racking up 20 goals in the campaign. Aroldo Da Silva Arruda took home the accolade for scoring 23 goals in the BOV Challenge League, while Christian Saint Ebisindor completed the double as listed above. Jake Grech of Hibernians FC won the ‘Best Goal’ award.
Foreign Player, FairPlay and Best Coach Awards
Angel Torres of Balzan FC was awarded as best foreign player of the year, while Luxol St. Andrews won the FairPlay award. Branko Nisevic was deemed to be the ‘Coach of the Year’ after leading Hamrun Spartans FC to their ninth title, as well as European success in the UEFA Conference League.
Hall of Fame & President’s Awards
Two ex-players were inducted into the ‘Hall of Fame’ after being the awarded the most MFA Footballer of the Year awards, in the women’s and men’s categories respectively. Tessie Agius and Andrew Cohen took the accolades after being awarded for three and four times respectively in their playing careers.
Meanwhile, the MFA President’s Award, as chosen by Bjorn Vassallo, went to Joseph Micallef who had his start with Dingli Swallows FC and is an honorary member of the Youth FA, and Paul Spiteri for his work with Valletta FC.
MFA Footballer of the Year Award
In a repeat of the MFPA awards earlier this week, Jade Flask of Swieqi United and Matthew Guillaumier of Hamrun Spartans FC took home the best footballer accolades of the night.
A Rushed Affair
The whole show lasted less than a first-half of a football match. While lengthy award shows are unnecessary, the apparent rush throughout the whole ceremony gave the sense of everyone involved appearing to have somewhere better to be.
Presentations were given to a breathless summary of the winner’s achievements which made the whole thing feel even more rushed. Amongst the most notable aspects, in between the list of facts fired at the viewer, was the constant reminder of the equality being given to both sexes in the awards. However, dedicating some time to speaking briefly with every athlete would have made for an experience of higher quality.
A strange aspect was the lack of a speech by an MFA official, for example the president of the association, in what was perhaps a golden opportunity to share the association’s successes of this year and vision for next year.
In the end, though the intention of the ceremony is a good one (as has been for many a year), the execution left much to be desired. Following a hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, perhaps the show deserved a bit more pomp and circumstance and one hopes for better next year.
Photo: Malta FA
