The Gozo Football Association held its annual activity at the end of the 2016/2017 football season by awarding the players and persons who distinguished themselves during the various competitions. Twenty one awards were given in various categories which include the Gozo Women’s football, the Gozo Youth FA, the two divisions of top football and the top scorers of the categories.
During the annual even the GFA also gave three special awards. SK Victoria Wanderers were given a special award for their achievement in the FA Trophy as they became the first Gozitan team that reached the semi-final stage of this prestigious competition. Veteran player Brian Meilak was also recognized for his achievement by playing more than 600 competitive matches in local competitions, while Mark Buttigieg was awarded a special award for becoming the first Gozitan coach who qualified for the UEFA Pro coaching license. The Treasurer of the GFA Mr George Cini was awarded the Official of the year of the association.
The main honours were selected through a voting process according to the votes given by the journalists reporting Gozitan football, the captains of each team and the coaches of the Gozitan team. Xewkija’s Thiago Melo Dos Santos, who ended up top scorer of the top flight together with Victoria Hotspurs’ Henrique Maciel, was awarded the best foreign player of the BOV Gozo Football League Division I. Mario Bonello of Oratory Youths was the best coach of the season while Ghajnsielem’s Stefan Cassar was awarded the most promising player of the GFA.
The most prestigious honour that of the GFA player of the year, was awarded to Steve Sultana. The 26 year-old goalkeeper of champions Xewkija Tigers crowned an excellent season where he not only won the Gozitan championship for the first time in his career, but won also the best Gozitan player of the MFA Awards and was recently called by Pietro Ghedin to form part of the provisional national squad for the commitments of the national team during June.
List of individual honours 2016/2017
Gozo FC Womens’s Under 17 Player of the Year: Maria Farrugia – Gozo FC
Gozo FC Women Player of the Year: Melania Bajada – Gozo FC
Gozo Under 15 Player of the Year: Gianluca Muscat – Xaghra United FC
GYFA Under 15 League Top Scorer: Karl Formosa – St. Lawrence FC 19 Goals
GYFA Under 15 Player of the Year: Daniel Cassar – Kercem Ajax FC
GYFA Under 18 League Top Scorer: Thomas Vella – Xewkija Tigers FC 31 Goals
GYFA Under 18 Player of the Year: Daniel Azzopardi – Oratory Youths FC
GYFA Coach of the Year: Joe Portelli – Nadur Youngsters FC
GFL 2nd Div. League Top Scorer: Mohammed Telessi Senussi – St. Lawrence Spurs FC – 24 Goals
GFL 2nd Div. Foreign Player of the Year: Telessi Senussi – St. Lawrence Spurs FC
GFL 2nd Div. Player of the Year: Jordi Parnis – Munxar Falcons FC
Team Achievement: SK Victoria Wanderers
Player Achievement: Brian Meilak
Coach Achievement: Mark Buttigieg
GFA Good Conduct Cup: St. Lawrence Spurs
GFA Official of the Year: George Cini
GFL 1st Division League Top Scorer: Thiago Melo – Xewkija Tigers FC and Henrique Maciel – Victoria Hotspurs FC 14 Goals
GFL 1st Division Foreign Player of the Year: Thiago Melo – Xewkija Tigers FC
GFA Coach of the Year: Mario Bonello – Oratory Youths FC
GFA Promising Player of the Year: Stefan Cassar – Ghajnsielem FC
GFA Player of the Year: Steve Sultana – Xewkija Tigers FCTeam Roll of Honours 2016/2017
GFA BOV GFL Division I champions: Xewkija Tigers
GFA Cup winners: Ghajnsielem
GFA Division I Knock Out winners: Xewkija Tigers
GFA Super Cup winners: Xewkija Tigers
GFA BOV Division II champions: Gharb Rangers
GFA Division I Knock out winners: Munxar Falcons
GYFA U/18 champions: Oratory Youths/Munxar Falcons
GYFA U/18 Knock Out winners: Oratory Youths/Munxar Falcons
GYFA U/15 champions: Kercem Ajax/St Lawrence Spurs
GYFA U/15 Knock Out winners: Xaghra United