Melbourne Victory duo Kevin Muscat and Billy Celeski have made the shortlist for the inaugural PFA Footballer of the Year and PFA Harry Kewell Medal awards respectively.
Melbourne Victory duo Kevin Muscat and Billy Celeski have made the shortlist for the inaugural PFA Footballer of the Year and PFA Harry Kewell Medal awards respectively.
The awards are a first in Australian football as they are open to players plying their trade both at home and abroad, and will be voted for by the judge the professional footballer most highly regards – his peer.
The 12 nominees for the 2008/09 PFA Footballer of the Year are Muscat, Tim Cahill, Travis Dodd, Eugene Galekovic, Mile Jedinak, Harry Kewell, Scott McDonald, Craig Moore, Lucas Neill, Sasa Ognenovski, Mark Schwarzer and Shane Smeltz.
The 11 players in the running for the 2008/09 PFA Harry Kewell Medal, awarded to the U23 PFA Footballer of the Year, are Celeski, Bruce Djite, Tarek Elrich, Adam Federici, Scott Jamieson, Mitch Nichols, Nikita Rukavytsya, Matt Simon, Matthew Spiranovic, James Troisi and Michael Zullo.
The list of nominees has been formulated throughout the 2008/09 football season at regular sittings of the PFA-s highly credentialed Awards Committee.
The more than 300 PFA members based in Australia and throughout Europe will now vote to determine the winners of the awards, which will be announced at the Australian Football Awards ceremony in Sydney on Thursday, 11 June, in conjunction with Football Federation Australia.
