The Ghana Player of the Year (or Ghanaian Footballer of the Year) is an annual award from Football Association of Ghana, govern in recognition of excellence to the best Ghanaian professional association footballer of the year.
 2020 winner Jordan Ayew | |
| Sport | Association football |
|---|---|
| Location | Accra International Conference Centre |
| Country | Republic of Ghana |
| Presented by | Sport Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) |
| History | |
| First award | 1975 |
| Editions | 29 |
| First winner | Mohammed Ahmed Polo (1975) |
| Most wins | Samuel Kuffour (3) |
| Most recent | Daniel Afriyie (2022, home based) Mohammed Kudus (2022, foreign) |
The title has been awarded yearly in Ghana since 1975. The award is determined annually by the members of the Sport Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG), with additional votes from the Ghana Premier League team captains and coaches, in collaboration with Goal.com's corporate subdivision of Perform Group, and is published by the Ghana Football Association (GFA). All Ghanaian professional association footballers all eligible. The award has been presented on 28 occasions as of 2020.
The most successful player of the award is Samuel Kuffour, who was chosen as Ghana Player of the Year three times. Asamoah Gyan, André Ayew, Stephen Appiah, Kwadwo Asamoah and Thomas Partey have each won the award twice, the latter three all in consecutive years.
Winners edit
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Abedi Pele was the winner of the award in 1993, and was also named African Footballer of the Year three times
Samuel Kuffour has won the most awards, with three titles in 1998, 1999 and 2001
John Mensah was the recipient of the award in 2006
Michael Essien won the award in 2007
John Paintsil was the recipient of the award in 2008
André Ayew, winner of the award in 2011
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Asamoah Gyan won the award twice 2010 and 2013
Footballer of the Year (Home Based)
| Year | Winner | Club | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021[13] | Daniel Afriyie |  Hearts of Oak |
Forward |
| 2022[14] | Daniel Afriyie | Hearts of Oak
|
Forward |
Footballer of the Year (Foreign)
| Year | Winner | Club | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021[15] | Mohammed Kudus |  Ajax |
Midfielder |
| 2022[16] | Mohammed Kudus | Ajax
|
Midfielder |
Breakdown of winners edit
Number of wins by player edit
| Rank | Name | Number of wins | Winning years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samuel Kuffour | 3 | 1998, 1999, 2001 |
| 2 | Stephen Appiah | 2 | 2004, 2005 |
| Asamoah Gyan | 2 | 2010, 2013 | |
| André Ayew | 2 | 2011, 2015 | |
| Thomas Partey | 2 | 2017, 2018 | |
| 6 | Kwadwo Asamoah | 1 | 2012 |
| Mohammed Ahmed Polo | 1 | 1975 | |
| Karim Abdul Razak | 1 | 1978 | |
| John Nketia Yawson | 1 | 1979 | |
| Francis Kumi | 1 | 1980 | |
| Joe Odoi | 1 | 1984 | |
| Abedi Pele | 1 | 1993 | |
| Tony Yeboah | 1 | 1997 | |
| Emmanuel Osei Kuffour | 1 | 2000 | |
| Charles Asampong | 1 | 2002 | |
| Aziz Ansah | 1 | 2003 | |
| John Mensah | 1 | 2006 | |
| Michael Essien | 1 | 2007 | |
| John Paintsil | 1 | 2008 | |
| Dominic Adiyiah | 1 | 2009 | |
| Harrison Afful | 1 | 2014 | |
| Solomon Asante | 1 | 2016 | |
| Jordan Ayew | 1 | 2020 |
Number of wins by league edit
| Rank | League | Number of wins | Winning years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ghana Premier League |
8 | 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1984, 2000, 2002, 2003 |
| 2 |  Premier League |
5 | 2007, 2008, 2010, 2015, 2020 |
| 3 |  Serie A |
4 | 2004, 2005, 2009, 2012 |
 Bundesliga |
4 | 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001 | |
| 5 |  Ligue 1 |
3 | 1993, 2006, 2011 |
| 6 |  La Liga |
2 | 2017, 2018 |
| 7 |  Linafoot |
1 | 2016 |
 UAE Pro League |
1 | 2013 | |
 Ligue Professionnelle 1 |
1 | 2014 |
Number of wins by club edit
| Rank | Club | Number of wins | Winning years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hearts of Oak |
5 | 1975, 1979, 1984, 2000, 2002 |
| 2 | Juventus |
4 | 2004, 2005, 2012, 2013 |
| 3 | Asante Kotoko |
3 | 1978, 1980, 2003 |
| Bayern Munich |
3 | 1998, 1999, 2001 | |
| 5 | Marseille |
2 | 1993, 2011 |
| Atlético Madrid |
2 | 2018, 2019 | |
| 7 | Hamburger SV |
1 | 1997 |
| Rennes |
1 | 2006 | |
| Chelsea |
1 | 2007 | |
| Fulham |
1 | 2008 | |
| Milan |
1 | 2009 | |
| Sunderland |
1 | 2010 | |
| Al Ain |
1 | 2014 | |
| Espérance de Tunis |
1 | 2015 | |
 Swansea City |
1 | 2016 | |
| TP Mazembe |
1 | 2017 | |
| Crystal Palace |
1 | 2020 |
Number of wins by position edit
| Rank | Position | Number of wins |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Forward | 12 |
| 2 | Midfielder | 10 |
| 3 | Defender | 6 |
| 4 | Goalkeeper | 0 |
References edit
- ^ "Essien named Footballer of the Year". Ghana Football Association. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
- ^ "Adiyiah wins SWAG gongs". Ghana Football Association. 13 September 2010. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
- ^ "Asamoah Gyan Wins SWAG Top Award". Modern Ghana. 4 July 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
- ^ "Andre Ayew wins SWAG Footballer of the Year Award, missed out on ultimate". GhanaSoccernet. 10 June 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
- ^ Dogbevi, Emmanuel (1 July 2013). "Kwadwo Asamoah picks SWAG top awards". Ghana Business News. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
- ^ "Kwasi Appiah wins top SWAG award". graphic.com.gh. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
- ^ Laryea, Beatrice (5 October 2015). "Afful crowned SWAG 2014 Footballer of the Year". Graphic Online. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
- ^ Owusu, Stephen (5 June 2016). "Andre Ayew wins Sports Personality of The Year at MTN SWAG awards". YEN Ghana. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
- ^ Gyamera-Antwi, Evans (28 May 2017). "Asante named 2016 SWAG Player of the Year". Goal. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
- ^ "Thomas Partey insist he deserves SWAG player of the year award". Ghana Sports Online. 2018-05-04. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
- ^ Okine, Sammy Heywood (13 May 2019). "Full List Of 2018 SWAG Award Winners". Ghana Olympic. Ghana Olympic Committee. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ^ "Jordan Ayew on SWAG best player award, life at Crystal Palace, C.K Akonnor and Ghana vs Qatar: Transcript". www.ghanafa.org. Ghana Football Association. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ^ "SWAG Awards: Hearts of Oak striker Daniel Afriyie Barnieh wins Home-based Footballer of the Year". GhanaSoccernet. 17 December 2021. Archived from the original on 18 December 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
- ^ Akyereko, Akwasi (28 January 2023). "Hearts star-boy Afriyie Barnieh dumps Galaxies teammate Danlad Ibrahim and GPL goal-king Annor to win 2022 SWAG Home-based Footballer of the Year". Ghana Sports Online. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
- ^ "SWAG Awards: Ajax star Mohammed Kudus adjudged Foreign Footballer of the Year". GhanaSoccernet. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
- ^ Lawrence, Kweku (29 January 2023). "Mohammed Kudus wins big at 47th SWAG Awards gala". My Joy Online. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
Notes edit
- ^ Due to COVID-19 pandemic the award covered the both 2019 and 2020