Attendance Stipulation Applies to Scorers Too
To bring it in line with other categories at the Golden Footprints Soccer Awards, we have renamed the Top Goalscorer categories to the Golden Footprints Soccer Awards King/Queen of Goals.
Golden Footprints Soccer Awards are attendance-based, and for most of the categories, we maintain a top-five (maximum) ranking, with the highest-ranked nominee in attendance being awarded. That would present a problem with Top Goalscorer, as there can only be one.
By renaming the category, it becomes open to awarding any of the five top goalscorers. The winner is, therefore, not necessarily the league’s top goalscorer, but the top goalscorer among the five who is in attendance.
For the avoidance of doubt, the Best Player categories across all the leagues below top flight will come from the already-released nominee lists of three or four players. A full nominee list made up of confirmed attendees will be released next week, obviously with reserved slots for pending goalscorer and keeper confirmations.
For the two top flight leagues, the released Top 20 shortlists are the nominees for the Best Player category. For top flight players, acceptance of nomination is through voting in the Players’ Player of the Year, currently underway. For ZWPSL coaches, acceptance of invitation is through voting in the Coaches Choice poll, currently underway.
FLASHBACK: Goalkeeper of the Year (ZWPSL) Delight Matigwene (left) and Queen of Goals (ZWPSL) Rutendo Makore at last year’s ceremony.
FLASHBACK: Last year, Ntonga zoBhachi was Norton Coach of the Year after leading Chingwere FC to the Northern Region Soccer League (NRSL). He has since been relieved of his duties, but Chingwere has without doubt been the surprise package of the just-ended season, where they finished third, behind champions Harare City and Black Rhinos, in the race for a place in the Premier Soccer League.