Jamaican superstars Leon Bailey and Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw have both been shortlisted in the male and female categories for the Concacaf Player of the Year Awards, following their exploits for both club and country in the 2023–24 campaign.
The nominees, who were selected for the coveted Confederation Award based on performance statistics and the input of football experts, were announced on Tuesday as fan voting also opened to allow football enthusiasts to vote for their favourite players.
To be eligible to be shortlisted, players must have played for a Concacaf Member Association's senior Men's or Women's national team in eligible Concacaf and FIFA competitions and matches. Additionally, regardless of nationality, players must have represented a club in the 2023–24 season in a Concacaf and FIFA-sanctioned top division Men’s or Women’s professional league in the Concacaf region.
Bailey, 26, had a superb season with English Premier League (EPL) outfit Aston Villa last season, in which he earned a few Player of the Month awards. He scored 10 goals and registered nine assists to help the club to a fourth-place finish in the league.
Though his appearances, or lack thereof, on the international scene were marred by controversy, the dynamic winger did enough to make the shortlist, which also includes Adalberto Carrasquilla of Panama and Houston Dynamo.
Jonathan David of Canada and French club Lille; Canada’s and Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies; Santiago Gimenez of Mexico and Feyenoord; and American Christian Pulisic, who also represents AC Milan, are the other nominees.
Meanwhile, Reggae Girlz and Manchester City striker Shaw, had an unforgettable 2023–24 season in which she was named the 2023–24 Barclays Women’s Super League (WSL) Player of the Season and was named the Football Writers’ Association (FWA) Women Footballer of the Year.
The 27-year-old, whose season was cut short due to a broken leg, registered 21 goals in just 18 appearances and also provided three assists.
Shaw was the first player to score three WSL hat-tricks in a calendar year last year, and between November 2023 and January 2024, the forward again registered three trebles in just four matches.
Finding the net in both WSL Manchester derbies, the Jamaican’s clinical finish at the Etihad Stadium in March also saw her become City’s record goalscorer, as she swept past Georgia Stanway in the process.
By all indications, Shaw, who won the Concacaf Player of the Year award in 2022, seems set to repeat the feat on this occasion, but she will have five other nominees to contend with.
They are Charlyn Corral of Mexico and Pachuca Femenil; Haiti’s Melchie Dumornay of Olympique Lyonnais; Adriana Leon of Canada and Aston Villa women; Mexico’s Jacqueline Ovalle of Mexico and Tigres Femenil; and American Sophia Smith of Portland Thorns.
The voting process, which includes players, coaches, media, and fans, will determine the winners.
A total of 100 votes will conclude the process, with 41 votes to be cast by Men’s national team head coach—one for each Concacaf Member Association—and 41 Men’s national team captain with the same stipulation.
One vote each for the nine representative members from the Concacaf region will make up the nine media votes, while the remaining nine van votes will come through www.concacaf.com/awards. The player with the most fan votes will receive four votes in the overall voting process, second place three votes, and third place two votes, regardless of how many people vote online.
The process is the same for the Women’s award.
At the conclusion of the voting period, on August 2, the player in each category with the most votes out of the 100 available will be named 2023/24 Concacaf Men’s and Women’s Players of the Year.
Barcelona boss Flick calls for LaLiga suspension after Spanish floods
Barcelona are in high spirits ahead of Sunday's derby against Espanyol, though Hansi Flick does not think LaLiga matches should be played this weekend.
Barca thrashed Real Madrid 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu last weekend to establish a six-point lead in LaLiga but their city rivals Espanyol are 20 points behind and languishing in 17th place, a point above the relegation zone.
Yet Flick feels it is wrong that LaLiga is playing on in the wake of the flash floods that have devastated regions of eastern Spain, with Valencia particularly impacted.
Madrid's game against Valencia was naturally postponed, but most other fixtures in Spain's top tier are going ahead.
"If it were me, I might [suspend LaLiga] because it is an incredible tragedy for Valencia and Spain as a whole," Flick said.
"We have spoken with Ferran [Torres] who is from the area, and it is not easy to decide whether the game should be played or not.
"It is a tragedy. It was something similar in Germany three years ago, it is horrible. We will do everything we can to help. The rest is for LaLiga to decide."
Barca do hold a brilliant record against Espanyol, having not lost in their last 26 encounters with their city rivals.
Flick, though, warned his side against any complacency.
"I know what a Barca-Espanyol derby means. It will be a tough match, for sure. After a fantastic week, it is important to be at 100% tomorrow, with intensity and maximum quality," Flick said.
"We always prepare well for the next game. After the celebrations, we focus on the next game. We work on what we want tomorrow. It's a very long game in the league and we focus on the next game."
Barca have taken 30 points from their first 11 league matches this season, their second-highest tally at this stage of a campaign in the competition, after 31 points in the 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2017-18 seasons.
Simeone: It makes no sense to play after Spanish floods
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone is unhappy that most LaLiga matches will go ahead this weekend after catastrophic floods swept the eastern region of Spain.
The deadliest flash floods in Spain's modern history have killed over 200 people and dozens were still unaccounted for, four days after torrential rains swept the region of Valencia.
The tragedy is already Europe's worst flood-related disaster since 1967 when at least 500 people died in Portugal.
Saturday's clash between Valencia and Real Madrid, as well as Villarreal against Rayo Vallecano, are among several games postponed over the weekend after the floods.
"It doesn't make any sense," Simeone told reporters ahead of his side's home game against Las Palmas on Sunday.
"What is happening is very hard; it is very moving to see the people who went out on the streets to help, who with a shovel and their tools are trying to collaborate and that speaks very well of the country, of the people, and we want to help wherever we can.
"There are people having a very hard time, it's very sad and they tell us to continue and here we are, continuing."
Last month, Las Palmas named former Espanyol boss Diego Martinez as their new coach, and while Simeone is not pleased that the game is going ahead, he is prepared for a tough encounter.
"We have a tough game against a team that has improved a lot since the arrival of the coach," Simeone said.
"They are more forceful and I imagine a dangerous game, with a lot of counter-attacking, fast people in attack and we will try to have a game with these situations under control and get it out with the help of our fans, which is always fundamental."
Arsenal deserved to lose against Newcastle, says Arteta
Mikel Arteta was left frustrated by Arsenal's performance in their 1-0 defeat away to Newcastle United on Saturday.
The defeat left them third in the Premier League, though they could be up to eight points behind Manchester City by the end of the day.
Arsenal had 63.9% possession and mustered more shots (10) and a higher expected goals total (1.11) than Newcastle, but could not find a leveller following Alexander Isak's early header.
And Arteta was disappointed with how his side did the basics following what he thought was a good start.
"We deserved to lose today. I thought we started really well and were really dominant. We didn't defend the box well enough," he told Premier League Productions.
"Credit to them. They scored a great goal with a good ball.
"Then the game changes and you start to play a different game. You have to adapt and we didn't do that well enough. I am very frustrated.
"We got dragged into a game they are looking for constantly and we couldn't play the game that we wanted."
Arsenal only managed one shot on target in the match, coming from a Mikel Merino effort that was cleared off the line in the first half. Declan Rice, meanwhile, put a close-range header wide in second-half stoppage time.
"We had two big chances: Mikel had a big one, Declan had a big one. We lacked answers," said Arteta.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe, meanwhile, was delighted with the Magpies' performance as they sealed back-to-back victories following their win over Chelsea in the EFL Cup on Wednesday.
"You have to be really strong mentality and know results will turn if you continue to do the right things," Howe told BBC Sport.
"It has been a difficult week with the fixtures, but the players have done really well.
"There was a better feeling in training after the Chelsea win, as if pressure lifted slightly.
"Today's performance was built on hard work, desire and a lot of really good defending in the second half. I thought we looked good."
Isak headed home from a pinpoint Anthony Gordon cross to tally up his third goal in three successive appearances in all competitions.
"I wouldn't say it is a trademark goal for Alex but really pleased to see it. Anthony can give you that on his natural right-hand side and it was a great ball," said Howe.
"It was always going to take a moment like that as it was a game of few chances."
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