Deep pool of candidates for national soccer awards

Arfield, Sinclair, Davies and Huitema among Canada Soccer award nominees

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 teammates 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.