Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) has announced the 2015/16 nominees for the PFA Footballer of the Year, PFA Women’s Footballer of the Year and PFA Harry Kewell Medal.
The winners, as voted by the players, will be announced at the 2016 PFA Players’ Awards on Tuesday, December 6 at Palladium at Crown.
Having previously been won by the likes of Mark Schwarzer, Mile Jedinak and Robbie Kruse, the 2015/16 nominees, as selected by a PFA Awards Committee consisting of Socceroos greats and leading figures in the football media, are as follows:
- Matthieu Delpierre
- Mark Milligan
- Tom Rogic
- Bruno Fornaroli
- Aaron Mooy
- Jamie Maclaren
- Diego Castro
- Tim Cahill
- Mat Ryan
- Mathew Leckie
Delpierre starred in defence for Melbourne Victory in the 2015/16 season, winning the Victory Medal before announcing his retirement and bringing his distinguished career to an end.
Voted on by all of the PFA’s female members, the 2015/16 PFA Women’s Footballer of the Year nominees list features five stars of the Westfield Matildas’ outstanding Olympic Games qualification campaign. The nominees are:
- Emily van Egmond
- Lydia Williams
- Alanna Kennedy
- Elise Kellond-Knight
- Caitlin Foord
Recognising outstanding achievement by an Australian under-23 footballer playing in the Hyundai A-League or overseas, the PFA Harry Kewell Medal nominees list is dominated by the young stars who lit up the Hyundai A-League 2015/16 season. The nominees are:
- Jason Geria
- Jamie Maclaren
- Stefan Mauk
- Alex Gersbach
- Dimitri Petratos
- Jimmy Jeggo
Geria established himself as one Victory’s key defenders in the 2015/16 season, earning a Caltex Socceroos debut in the process.
PFA president Alex Wilkinson paid tribute to the nominees and said all were worthy of the recognition.
“The nominees list highlights the quality of players we continue to produce, their capacity to play at the highest levels of the sport and the increasingly important role played by our premier domestic competitions in developing our top footballers,” Wilkinson said.
“The recognition of your peers is the highest honour you can receive as a player and one that is cherished by all.
“Some of the greats of our game are among the previous winners, and I have little doubt that these nominees will continue to have a major impact on the sport.”
