By Chris Dlamini
It’s now about off the field to officially seal what has been an unforgettable season. We are done with matches and now await the presentation of prizes. This includes the individual awards.
We also make our picks for some of these individual awards. We based it on consistency in the level of contribution more than anything.
For the Player of the Year Award, it is consistency and you must appear in the Player of the Month winners’ list.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD (E15 000):
Sabelo ‘Sikhali’ Ndzinisa (Green Mamba forward)
– He was named Player of the Month once and has for all season been a menace to opponents.- He is vying for this one again after winning it even last season.
– He is also the guaranteed Top Goal Scorer Award winner.
Ayanda Gadlela (Mbabane Swallows wing forward)
– Just like his coach Caleb Ngwenya, his first few games were tough and not because he did not deserve to
lay but because fans felt they did better than him. However, his work rate and assists before he started banging in the goals himself saw Ngwenya keep his faith in him.
– Gadlela did not disappoint but made his critics eat humble pie as he turned out the best player in their attack all season.
– He has ended the season with 13 league goals due to his consistency and attitude to stay calm and focused.
– He also won one Player of the Month and is a hot contender after also finishing as a champion.
Furthermore, he has made it into the latest national team Sihlangu as announced yesterday.
Kingsley Kwayki (Mbabane Swallows)
– He was a contender last season but was rightfully beaten to it by Green Mamba forward Sabelo ‘Sikhali’ Ndzinisa.
– Kingsley is a solid and the rock of that Swallows defence. He was all over and even has one or two goals plus assists in the league for a defender. They only lost one game all season and that is due to a strong defensive wall led by him.
Top Goal scorer Award (E12 000):
Sabelo ‘Sikhali’ Ndzinisa (Green Mamba Forward)
– He is a stand-alone winner. He was simply unstoppable, averaging a goal in nearly every game but the last two. He netted 20 goals, three less than last season when he was runner-up.Best Goalkeeper (E10 000)
Sibusiso ‘Baraba’ Dlamini (Nsingizini Hotspurs Goalkeeper)
– He has kept the cleanest sheets of all the shot-stoppers in the league.- He has also played the most games, all 26 to be precise and helped his team finish third in only their second season in the elite league.
– His latest national team, the Sihlangu call-up, justifies why he is almost an undisputed candidate here. He even has a Player of the Month Award, and his team finished in an improved third position when it was outside of the top four when they made their elite debut last season.
COACH OF THE YEAR (E10 000):
Caleb Ngwenya (Mbabane Swallows)
– Without a doubt, he deserves everything to do with this gong.
– He is the champion after leading Swallows to their first league title since the 2017/18 success.
– It was all achieved under harsh circumstances whereby supporters would insult him during games and on social media for various reasons including team selection.
– He stood by his principles and stuck to what he believed would have him achieve his mandate to take the club back to Confederation of African Football (CAF) inter-club tournaments.
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– After failing in three cup finals, he finally delivered the league with an unassailable five-point gap between them and last season’s winners, Green Mamba in the second spot.
– His team got five national team call-ups including the players he was attacked for, either for benching or starting them.
These are Leon ‘Schuster’ Manyisa and Ayanda Gadlela but his way helped both to grow and improve their form.
What more would you want from him but honourably give him the gong!
PRO OF THE YEAR:
Mnotfo Dlamini (Nsingizini Hotspurs)
– Two seasons into the big boys’ league but Nsingizini Hotspurs are so visible and organised for all to see in the social media.
– Mnotfo has been easy to access for the local media and is always available even for national radio and smaller stations like Voice of the Church as well as television.
ALSO READ: Nsingizini end-of-season awards this weekend
– He has led their merchandise marketing and ensured their communications and marketing have stayed up to date in the various social media platforms.
– He has managed to get the club the attention and new fans it so needs as they grow the brand.
Knowledge Ngwenya (Mbabane Swallows)
– Soft-spoken and easy to talk to, which made him ever-available and helpful when needed.
– He also had a column for their supporters communicating all they needed to know about the team in one of the local dailies.
– He also coordinated that information well with the rest of their digital media team to keep their pages in line and up to date.
