Replay Gala Night 2011 launched

With the local football season coming to a close, Media.Link Communications will host the fourth edition of The Gram Collections Replay Gala Night on Tuesday June 7.

This season being the 11th edition of NET TV’s Replay, Christian and ?or? Micallef, the producers of this popular football show, gave details about this annual fixture.

Addressing a press conference in Pietà in the presence of Mr Antoine Portelli, MFA Treasurer, Ms Louiselle Vassallo, Media.link Communications Broadcasting Manager and Ms Sarah Agius, Replay’s co-presenter, Christian Micallef said: “Once again these awards will give us the opportunity to honour those individuals who have excelled throughout the local football season. The Replay Gala Night will celebrate personal achievement and unceasing commitment to the game.”

?or? Micallef explained in detail the judging process for this year’s event. A panel of 12 football correspondents have just selected their top five players, coaches or referees in nine different categories. The votes accumulated by the top eight nominees in each category will be carried forward to the final adjudicating phase, where a panel of eight leading football pundits will now choose the nine winners. New among these categories is the Best Referee Award.

Nevertheless, the major novelty will be the Premier League Best XI team of the year. This will be chosen by all the ten Premier League coaches who have been asked to vote for the best player in each position. Also new is the Best Under-17 Player of the Year Award. MFA Technical Centre coaches, two journalists covering this sector and all Youth Nursery coaches at the helm of U-17 teams have been asked to cast their votes.

The prestigious Top Star and Young Star Player Awards will be retained. These tributes, similar to the PFA Player and Young Player of the Year Awards in England, will feature very prominently. All the players on the field in the local Premier League this season have been asked to name their top five players for the above-mentioned two awards. Last year’s new accolade, the Top Star Coach Award, will also feature again as the best coach will be voted for and chosen by the ten Premier League coaches themselves.

In a special award involving the sporting public, fans are being urged to have their final say on who they think was the BOV Premier League top player this season. Voting through text messages on 506 170 91 will close on Tuesday June 7, at noon. Furthermore local clubs’ websites will be examined by a team of web-design experts and a winner for Best Club Website announced.

The full list of awards for The Gram Collections Replay Gala Night 2011 event is the following:
– Best Overall Player
– Best Local Player
– Best Foreign Player
– Best Coach
– Best Goalkeeper
– Best Defender
– Best Midfielder
– Best Forward
– Best Referee
– Premier League Best XI
– Top Star Player Award
– Top Star Coach Award
– Young Star Player Award
– Best First Division Player
– Best Female Player
– Best U/17 Player
– Best Club Website
– Lifetime Achievement Awards
– Viewers’ Choice Award – Player of the Year

The Gram Collections Replay Gala Night will be broadcast live on NET TV at 8.30pm. Seasoned TV personalities Charles Saliba and Louise Tedesco will again host the evening.

This event is supported by Gram Collections (main sponsors), Parliamentary Secretary for Youth and Sport, Kunsill Malti ghall-isport, Bank of Valletta, Dove, Sling Shot Malta, Sports Experience, Powerade, Paparukei Caterers, Samsung, Aristocrat, Palmyra, PIN, PING and Eurotours