The Professional Footballers Association, often referred to as the PFA, has released the annual Team of the Year selection. An award is given to footballer players in the top four tiers of English football: the Premier League, the Championships, League One, and League Two. This year, the Premier League Team of the Year includes three African players: Riyad Mahrez, N’Golo Kante, and Dele Alli.
A prestigious award
The PFA is one of the oldest sports unions; it was formed in 1907. It initially was created to protect the rights of the players during bargaining and negotiations. The PFA is a key figure in football. It is an important member of the International Players’ Association, FIFPro, and the Professional Players’ Federation. The Team of the Year award has been around since the season of 1973-1974. The nominees are picked by members of the players’ trade union. The short list is created in January and then, the winners are named by the players in the nominees’ divisions. Since the winners are elected by their fellow professionals, the Team of the Year award is regarded as one of the highest honors available in British football.
The results were leaked this year
Normally the results are revealed at the PFA’s annual awards ceremony, which is on Sunday, April 24th this year. However, the results were leaked early. An association representative said that a member of the public chose “to deliberately leak our representative teams from the official brochure of the awards evening.” No one knows exactly how the brochure was leaked. The representative added that they are looking into the situation:
“As a matter of urgency, we are seeking a detailed explanation from the brochure printers as to how they were able to secure a copy of the publication.”
The PFA was forced to publish the results earlier than planned.
Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City)
Riyad Mahrez was born in France and is of Algerian descent. He plays for both Leicester City and for the Algerian national team as a winger. He represented Algeria at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. He scored 27 goals for his club this season.
N’Golo Kante (Leicester City)
N’Golo Kante is a French professional footballer of Malian descent. He also plays for the club Leicester City as well as for the French national team, as a central midfielder. His four-year contract with Leicester City is reportedly earned him £5.6 million. This year, Kante has made more tackles (149) than any other player.
Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur)
Dele Alli is half Nigerian. He plays as a midfielder for the Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur as well as for the England national team. He signed to Tottenham Hotspur in 2015 for a fee of £5 million. Eight of his ten Premiere League goals were scored away.
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