Zwane, Nurkovic tussle for Safja Footballer of the Season award

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Top performers for the 2019/20 season are yet to be recognised by the PSL and journalists are set to be the first to honour the players

The South African Football Journalists Association (Safja) has named five nominees for their inaugural Safja 2019/20 Men’s Footballer of the Season award.

Three Mamelodi Sundowns players - Hlompho Kekana, Themba Zwane and Peter Shalulile - appear on the list although the latter makes the selection based on his performances for his former club Highlands Park.

Chiefs have provided Samir Nurkovic as well as Lebogang Manyama and the winner is set to be announced on Tuesday.

Manyama was, however, criticised for dropping his form after the restart of the season.

The season’s joint top goal-scorer Frank Mhango of Orlando Pirates is a surprise omission from the selection.

Also missing from the nominees is AmaZulu’s Bongi Ntuli, who was a major influence in his team’s survival against relegation.

But the race for the gong appears to be between Zwane and Nurkovic. Zwane managed 11 PSL goals and eight assists last season while Nurkovic struck 13 league goals and six assists in his debut season in South Africa.

But the Downs man played more games than the Serbian as the Brazilians reached the final of the Telkom Knockout and the Nedbank Cup, as well as Caf Champions League football, where their campaign ended at the quarter-final stage.

“The Safja 2019/20 Men’s Footballer of the Season winner announcement follows shortly after Safja’s historic first honouring of a South African Women’s Footballer of the Season in South Africa,” Safja said in a statement as per Sowetan Live.

“Safja announced ex-Mamelodi Sundowns and current Dinamo-BSUPC [Belarus] forward Rhoda Mulaudzi as the inaugural Safja 2019-20 Women’s Footballer of the Year in an online function on September 1. The Banyana star received a trophy and R10‚000 in prize money.

“The winner of Safja’s men’s award will receive a trophy‚ a photo collage of their 2019-/0 season‚ and media training for an amateur club of their choice.”

Safja’s awards will come earlier than the Premier Soccer League’s traditional selection of the Player of the Season.

Orlando Pirates star Thembinkosi Lorch won last season’s gong for which Zwane was a strong contender.

2020-09-26 18:00:02

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