SUNDAY AKINTOYE
Captain of Super Eagles, John Mikel Obi, Chelsea midfielder, Victor Moses and head coach of the senior national team, Gernor Rohr are among the nominees shortlisted for this year’s edition of Nigeria Pitch Awards.
The list of the nominees were unveiled Wednesday at a press conference held in Lagos by the organisers of the Nigeria Pitch Awards.
Mikel is expected to battle Wilfred Ndidi and Victor Moses in the category of best mildfielder of the year,while Rohr will face Fidelis Ilechuckwu of MFM and Kennedy Boboye of Pleateu United in the category of Best Coach of the Year.
In other category, Carl Ikeme is shortlisted along with Ikechukwu Ezenwa and Dele Ajiboye in the Best goalkeeper of the year.
Meanwhile, the organisers of the Nigeria Pitch Awards have officially announced that Lagos State would host the fifth edition of the annual award ceremony which holds in June.
President of the Nigeria Pitch Awards, Shina Philips while addressing journalists said Lagos is in better position to host this year’s edition considering the fact the state has contributed immensely to the growth of sports in the country.
He said the state has what it takes to host the much awaited award ceremony which is being put together by the SIAO Partners, Nigeria’s foremost accounting firm. According to him, SIAO Partners is an independent vote collation body which has been doing a tremendous job .
“ We are ready to organize a memorable Nigeria Pitch Award and we are hosting the award ceremony in Lagos because we believe that the host state has what it takes to host the successful event. We have fixed next month for the award but we will communicate to sportswriters about the date and venue very soon,” he said.
Commenting on the process of award nominees, Philips explained that the organizers have put in place a credible and transparent reward system for Nigerian footballers and stakeholders to vote for the candidates of their choice.
“We are gathered here today to witness the public presentation of the results of the 2017/18 voting process, which took place between February and March.SIAO Partners, our Independent vote collation body has done a great job in terms of voting process. The Nigeria Pitch Awards is a platform for recognizing, rewarding and celebrating talented and industrious footballers and other stakeholders in Nigeria football. We are proud of the standard set and the high quality of award winners,” said Philips who promised that this year’s edition will be better than previous editions.
In her own comment, Chairperson of Nigeria Women Football League, Aisha Falode commended the organizers for the thorough job, adding that the players that were shortlisted are nominated by the stakeholders on merit.
“ I am very impressed with the level of work carried out by the organisers during the time of voting process. The organizers and the SIAO Partners have done well in areas of vote collation and transparency. I am looking forward to this year’s edition
THE NOMINEES
GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR
1. Carl Ikeme Wolverhampton Wanderers
2. Ikechukwu Ezenwa Ifeanyi Ubah FC
3. Dele Ajiboye Plateau United FC
DEFENDER OF THE YEAR
1. Leon Balogun FSV Mainz 05
2. William Troost-Ekong Bursapor FC
3. Shehu Abdullahi Anothosis Famagusta FC
MIDFIELDER OF THE YEAR
1. John Mikel Obi Tianjin Teda
2. Wilfred Ndidi Leicester City FC
3. Victor Moses Chelsea FC
STRIKER OF THE YEAR
1. Victor Moses Chelsea FC
2. Anthony Okpotu Lobi Stars FC
3. Odion Ighalo Changchun Yatai
MVP (MEN) IN THE NPFL
1. Ikechukwu Ezenwa Ifeanyi Ubah FC
2. Stephen Odey MFM FC/FC Zurich
3. Anthony Okpotu Lobi Stars FC
MVP (WOMEN) IN THE NWFL
1. Charity Rueben Ibom Angels
2. Rasheedat Ajibade FC Robo
3. Amarachi Okonkwo Nasarawa Amazons
COACH OF THE YEAR
1. Fidelis Elechukwu MFM FC
2. Gernot Rohr Super Eagles
3. Kennedy Boboye Plateau United
CLUB/TEAM OF THE YEAR
1. Super Eagles
2. Plateau United FC
3. MFM FC
REFEREE OF THE YEAR
1. Ferdinand Udoh
2. Adebimpe Quadri
3. Ogabor Joseph
STATE WITH THE BEST GRASSROOTS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
1. Lagos State
2. Rivers State
3. Delta State
FOOTBALL FRIENDLY GOVERNOR OF THE YEAR
1. His Excellency Godwin Obaseki Edo State
2. His Excellency Emmanuel Udom Akwa Ibom State
3. His Excellency Akinwunmi Ambode Lagos State
SAM OKWARAJI AWARD FOR COMMITMENT TO NIGERIAN FOOTBALL
1. Shehu Dikko 2nd Vice President, NFF
2. Amaju Melvin Pinnick President, NFF
3. Chief Ifeanyi Ubah Chairman, Ifeanyi Ubah FC
CORPORATE SPONSOR OF FOOTBALL AWARD
1. Aiteo Group
2. Nigerian Breweries plc
3. Coca Cola plc
FOOTBALL JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR (PRINT)
1. Johnny Edwards Complete Sports
2. Tana Aiyejina Punch Newspapers
3. Olalekan Okusan The Nation Newspapers
FOOTBALL JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR (RADIO)
1. Godwin Enakhena Top Radio FM
2. Olawale Adigun Top Radio FM
3. Tony Bekederemo Brila FM
FOOTBALL JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR (TV)
1. Austin Okon-Akpan Channels TV
2. Godwin Enakhena LTV/SportsSplash
3. Mozez Praiz Supersport
QUEEN OF THE PITCH
1. Rasheedat Ajibade FC Robo
2. Rueben Charity Ibom Angels
3. Asisat Oshoala Dalian Quanjian
KING OF THE PITCH
1. Victor Moses Chelsea FC
2. Wilfred Ndidi Leicester City FC
3. John Mikel Obi Tiajin Teda
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