ABU DHABI, 6th August, 2023 (WAM) – The UAE Pro League announced the Nominees’ final shortlist for the 2022-2023 season awards following the end of the voting period on Friday, August 4th.
The UAE Pro League revealed that voting was held, starting from 30th July to 4th August through the UAEPL’s official website, mobile apps, and its social media accounts, amid wide participation and remarkable turnout.
The winners are set to be revealed at a highly-anticipated ceremony, which will be held at Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental on 10th August.
The final shortlist for the Golden Ball Award for the best Emirati player will see competition between Al Wasl’s Ali Saleh, Al Jazira’s Ali Mabkhout and Shabab Al Ahli’s Yahya Al Ghassani.
As for the Golden Ball handed to the best foreign player, the shortlist includes Federico Cartabia (Shabab Al Ahli), Laba Kodjo (Al Ain), and Mohamed Firas Ben Larbi (Ajman).
Meanwhile, the Golden Boy for the U 23 Best Emirati Player list includes Abdulla Hamad (Al Wahda), Harib Abdalla Suhail and Bader Nasser Abaelaziz (Shabab Al Ahli).
As for the Golden Boy for Best Player (Resident/Born), the list includes Ousmane Camara, Luan Pereira (Sharjah), and Erik Jorgens (Al Ain).
The Golden Glove award for the best goalkeeper will see competition between Khaled Al Senani (Al Wasl), Adel Al Hosani (Sharjah), and Khaled Eisa (Al Ain).
Leonardo Jardim (Shabab Al Ahli), Goran Tufegdzic (Ajman), Olăroiu Cosmin (Sharjah) will be vying for the Leader for the best coach award.
Meanwhile, the trio Fabio De Lima (Al Wasl), Soufian Rahimi and Laba Kodjo (Al Ain) will also be vying for the Fans’ Player of the Year.
The Fans’ Goal of the Year award will see competition between Laba Kodjo, Soufian Rahimi (Al Ain), and Fabio De Lima (Al Wasl).
Regarding the Professional Excellence in Club Licensing, the list includes Al Ain, Sharjah and Shabab Al Ahli.
Additionally, the UAE Pro League awards ceremony’s night will encompass statistics-based awards, such as the Golden Shoe for the ADNOC Pro League Top Scorer, the Silver Shoe for the U21 Pro League Top Scorer, Fantasy Manager of the Year, Fans League Award, the Golden Shoe for ADIB Cup Top Scorer, and the Dream Team Award.
The nominees have been carefully selected based on statistics provided by sports analytics company Opta. .
The selection committee, which comprises the UAE Pro League’s technical committee and experts, chose the final list. They reserve the right to exclude statistical criteria for up to 20% of the total nominees per category.
The voting system is divided equally among four categories – each contributes 25% to the total. These categories include coaches, team captains, media professionals, and fans.