SINGAPORE – Following their triumphant Singapore Premier League (SPL) season, Albirex Niigata have also dominated the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) Awards Night nominations.
The annual event at Orchard Hotel on Tuesday will be held in-person for the first time since 2019.
The nominees were announced on Monday, and Albirex coach Kazuaki Yoshinaga will be hot favourite to claim his third Coach of the Year gong after winning the award in 2017 and 2018 when he also guided the White Swans to the league title.
The 54-year-old will be up against Geylang International’s Noor Ali and Tanjong Pagar’s Hasrin Jailani.
Meanwhile, 22-year-old Albirex forward Kodai Tanaka is in the running for both the Player and Young Player of the Year Awards after playing a key role in their title campaign with 33 goals in 28 games.
In the senior category, he faces stiff competition from Tampines Rovers’ SPL top scorer Boris Kopitovic, who racked up 35 goals in 28 games, and Lion City Sailors’ Belgian winger Maxime Lestienne, who notched 23 assists and 12 goals in 25 matches.
The Young Player of the Year award will also see Tanaka go up against 19-year-old teammate Ilhan Fandi, who is the top local scorer with 17 goals in 21 games, and Balestier Khalsa’s Ryoya Taniguchi, 23, who contributed 10 goals and 11 assists.
In a season that has produced 506 goals from 112 matches, three of those made it to the Goal of the Year shortlist – Hougang United midfielder Andre Moritz’s match-winning effort straight from kick-off against Geylang International in March, Ilhan’s bicycle kick against Balestier in July, and Tampines playmaker Kyoga Nakamura’s whipped finish against Geylang in August.
Despite spending big on marquee local and foreign signings, the Sailors stuttered late in the season to finish second, and were also shut out of the major SPL awards other than Lestienne’s nomination. However, their women’s team are contesting all the major Women’s Premier League awards after capturing their first league title.
The FAS Awards Night will also recognise outstanding performances from Singapore Football Leagues 1 and 2, which ended last week.
Subsidiary awards will be handed out to the top referee and assistant referee, while The Straits Times is also a nominee in the Story of the Year category with its interactive “How Lion City Sailors are outspending other Singapore Premier League clubs”.
FAS Awards Night nominees (Singapore Premier League)
Player of the Year: Kodai Tanaka (Albirex), Maxime Lestienne (Lion City Sailors), Boris Kopitovic (Tampines)
Young Player of the Year: Kodai Tanaka (Albirex), Ilhan Fandi (Albirex), Ryoya Taniguchi (Balestier)
Coach of the Year: Hasrin Jailani (Tanjong Pagar), Noor Ali (Geylang), Kazuaki Yoshinaga (Albirex)
Goal of the Year: Andre Moritz (Hougang), Kyoga Nakamura (Tampines), Ilhan Fandi (Albirex)
Top Scorer: Boris Kopitovic (Tampines)
Golden Glove: Zaiful Nizam (Geylang)
Fair Play Award: Albirex
FAS Awards Night nominees (Women’s Premier League)
Player of the Year: Izzati Rosni (Lion City Sailors), Haziqah Haszman (Tanjong Pagar), Manami Fukuzawa (Tanjong Pagar)
Young Player of the Year: Haziqah Haszman (Tanjong Pagar), Dhaniyah Qasimah (Hougang), Dorcas Chu (Lion City Sailors)
Coach of the Year: Yeong Sheau Shyan (Lion City Sailors), Nahar Daud (Albirex), Samawira Basri (Tanjong Pagar)
Goal of the Year: Nur Emilia Natasha (Albirex), Izzati Rosni (Lion City Sailors), Stephanie Dominguez (Still Aerion)
Top Scorer: Izzati Rosni (Lion City Sailors)
Golden Glove: Beatrice Tan (Lion City Sailors)
Fair Play Award: Tiong Bahru
