SWAG Player of the Year: Will it be Afful, Ayew or Gyan?

The cream of Ghana's distinguished sports personalities would be decorated tomorrow evening by the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) during the 40th edition of the country’s premier sports awards at the Banquet Hall of the State House.

About 25 sports personalities, teams and corporate bodies will be honoured for their achievements in the various sporting disciplines at the MTN-SWAG Awards that would attract stakeholders from the sports fraternity as well as other distinguished guests.

With the absence this year of the Sports Personality of the Year award, the ultimate prize on the night will be the Male Footballer of the Year prize to be competed for by the Black Stars trio of Asamoah Gyan, Andre Dede Ayew and Harrison Afful.

Indeed, any of the three nominees deserve the accolade following their magnificent performances for their clubs and the national team.

Gyan would be remembered for his feat at the FIFA World Cup where he scored two goals to become Africa’s all-time top scorer in World Cup history, in addition to his pivotal role in Al Ain’s league triumph.

Similarly, Ayew had a smashing season with Olympique Marseille and played a key role in Ghana’s World Cup campaign in Brazil, scoring two important goals..

Afful enjoyed a successful season with Tunisian giants, Esperance, winning the CAF Champions League and also putting up impressive performances for the national team, particularly at the World Cup

Another hotly contested award will be the Premier League Player of the Year prize which pits two of Kumasi Asante Kotoko’s most dependable centre-backs, Abeiku Ainooson and Kwabena Adusei, against former Bechem United prodigy, Augustine Okrah.

Other honours will be presented to individuals such as Martha Bissah, who gets the Discovery of the Year prize, Sharon Akwei (Promising Star of the Year), Jennifer Cudjoe (Female Footballer of the Year), Umar Abdul Walid (Amateur Boxer of the Year), Richard Commey (Professional Boxer of the Year), Razak Abugri (Judoka of the Year Award), Sharon Akwei (Taekwondo Star of the Year) and Elizabeth Opoku (Hockey Player of the Year).

Teenage star, Martha, will receive the Athlete of the Year award in recognition of her gold medal-winning performance at the 2014 Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China. Her coach, Isaac Nii Lamptey, gets the Coach of the Year Award.

Dedication and Valour will be presented to Ali Jaarah, while Referee of the Year will go to FIFA referee Joseph Odartey Lamptey.