November 12 – CONCACAF has released the nominees for its 2017 awards, the fifth time the confederation has held the awards for performances based in its competitions.
This year there are six individual award categories (nine awards) with votes also for best defenders, midfielders and strikers counting towards election into the best male and female teams of 2017.
Award categories are:
- Player of the Year: Male and Female
- Goal of the Year: Male or Female (top 10 goals male and female mix)
- Men’s Football Coach of the Year: Male or Female
- Women’s Football Coach of the Year: Male or Female
- Goalkeeper of the Year: Male and Female
- Referee of the Year: Male and Female
- Best XI: Male and Female
CONCACAF has nominated up to 10 nominees in each category and has now opened the voting to its 41 Member Associations’ National Team Head Coaches and Captains (they can’t vote for themselves), media, and to fans. Each category accounts for a third of the final vote.
Fan voting can be done via the web or social media.
Looking at the best player awards there are a number of very familiar names coming up in men’s nominees, notably Bryan Ruiz and Keylor Navas (Costa Rica), Javier Hernandez (Mexico) and US veterans Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore. They are up against emerging talent Andre Blake (Jamaica), Christian Pusilic (USA), and Mexicans Franco Jara, Hector Moreno and Hirving Lozano.
The women’s nominees are not surprisingly dominated by the big name US players with seven making the list, all playing in the NWSL – Alex Morgan, Becky Sauerbrunn, Carli Lloyd, Julie Ertz, Megan Rapinoe, Samantha Mewis and Tobin Heath. Australian Sam Kerr, playing in the NWLS with Sky Blue FC is the only non-CONCACAF nation player in the list.
Two Canadians make the final ten. Portland Timbers’ Christie Sinclair, and rapidly emerging young talent Jessie Fleming who plays at UCLA. She is the only college player on the list.
Venezuelan teenager Deyna Castellanos, who stunningly and controversially made the FIFA Best list playing at Florida State University, does not make the list. CONCACAF got that right!
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