TORONTO — Canada captains Scott Arfield and Christine Sinclair join Bayern Munich teenager Alphonso Davies and Manchester City striker Janine Beckie in a deep pool of candidates for the Canada Soccer Player of the Year Awards.
The 12 male nominees also include Red Star Belgrade goalkeeper Milan Borjan, Toronto FC midfielder Jonathan Osorio, Montreal Impact midfielder Samuel Piette, Puebla FC forward Lucas Cavallini, Cardiff City winger Junior Hoilett and Besiktas' Cyle Larin and Atiba Hutchinson, a six-time winner of the award
Davies is joined by fellow teenage nominees Jonathan David, Liam Millar and Ballou Tabla.
Sinclair, a 13-time winner of the award, and Beckie are joined by Lyon defender Kadeisha Buchanan (the 2017 winner), UCLA midfielder Jessie Fleming and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Ashley Lawrence among the 12 female nominees.
Canada under-17 captain Jordyn Huitema leads the women's youth international nominees. David, who plays for Belgium's KAA Ghent, and Millar (Liverpool under-23) are also up for the men's youth international award.
The nominees were chosen by the Canadian Soccer Association in conjunction with its technical staff. Winners will be announced Dec. 6 through 12.
Media and coaches will vote for the Canadian Players of the Year. Coaches alone will decide the new Canadian Youth International Players of the Year Awards, which replace the previous under-17 and under-20 categories.
The new youth awards come with an emphasis on performance at age-category international competitions.
CSA staff coaches will select the 2018 Canadian Para Soccer Player of the Year and Canadian Futsal Player of the Year.
The Allstate Canadian National Teams Good Hands Award, recognizing the top save by Canada's national team goalkeepers in international play, will be decided via a fan vote on social media and www.CanadaSoccer.com through Dec. 1.
Canadian Players of the Year Nominees
Men
Scott Arfield, Glasgow Rangers (Scotland); Milan Borjan, Red Star Belgrade (Serbia); Lucas Cavallini, Puebla FC (Mexico); Jonathan David, KAA Gent (Belgium); Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich (Germany); David (Junior) Hoilett, Cardiff City (Wales); Atiba Hutchinson. Besiktas (Turkey); Cyle Larin, Besiktas (Turkey); Liam Millar, Liverpool FC U-23 (England); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC; Samuel Piette, Montreal Impact; Ballou Tabla, FC Barcelona B (Spain).
Women
Janine Beckie, Manchester City (England); Kadeisha Buchanan, Olympique Lyonnais (France); Allysha Chapman, Houston Dash; Jessie Fleming, UCLA; Stephanie Labbe, Linkopings FC (Sweden); Ashley Lawrence, Paris Saint-Germain (France); Nichelle Prince, Houston Dash; Rebecca Quinn, Washington Spirit; Sophie Schmidt, unattached; Desiree Scott, Utah Royals; Christine Sinclair, Portland Thorns; Shelina Zadorsky, Orlando Pride.
Canadian Youth International Players of the Year Nominees
Men
Alessandro Busti, Juventus U-23 (Italy); Mathieu Choiniere, Montreal Impact; Derek Cornelius, FK Javor Ivanjica (Serbia); Jonathan David, KAA Gent (Belgium); Julian Dunn, Toronto FC II; Liam Millar, Liverpool FC U-23 (England); Noble Okello, Toronto FC II; Shamit Shome, Montreal Impact.
Women
Maya Antoine, Ontario Super REX; Wayny Balata, Quebec Super REX; Julia Grosso, Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite BC Soccer REX; Jordyn Huitema, Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite BC Soccer REX; Anna Karpenko, Ontario Super REX; Jayde Riviere, Ontario Super REX; Jade Rose, Ontario Super REX; Andersen Williams, Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite BC Soccer REX.
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SCHEDULE:
December
6: Allstate Canadian National Team Good Hands Award
7: Canadian Para Soccer Player of the Year and Canadian Futsal Player of the Year
10: Canadian Youth International Players of the Year
11 and 12: Canadian Players of the Year
Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
