A major awards ceremony honouring Australia’s best footballers will be held in Brisbane on 13 June – the day after the Socceroos meet Japan in a World Cup qualifying match.
Held by the Professional Footballers Australia (PFA), the awards ceremony will be held in conjunction with the Football Media Association (FMA) and with the support of PFA major partner LUCRF and event sponsor the Adecco Group.
The 2011-12 PFA Awards will bring together Australia’s professional footballers as they present the PFA Alex Tobin OAM Medal and announce the 2011-12 PFA Footballer of the Year and PFA Harry Kewell Medallist, with the FMA naming their two International Player awards also.
Details of the awards to be presented include the: PFA Footballer of the Year; previously won by Tim Cahill (2009), Mark Schwarzer (2010) and Matt McKay (2011); PFA Harry Kewell Medal to the Young Footballer of the Year; previously won by Nikita Rukavytsya (2009), Mitch Langerak (2010) and Robbie Kruse (2011); PFA Women’s Footballer of the Year; previously won by Servet Uzunlaar (2010) and Elise Kellond-Knight (2011); PFA Kimon Taliadoros Scholarships, awarded to two players who demonstrate excellence in their development off the field; PFA Craig Foster Media Scholarship in recognition of recently retired players seeking to forge a career in the football media; and the FMA International Players of the Year (men and women). Previous winners of the FMA Player of the Year have been Mark Schwarzer (2009), Tim Cahill (2010) and Brett Homan (2011).
This is the first year of the Women’s award.
The highlight of the awards function will be the conferral of the prestigious PFA Alex Tobin OAM Medal to its newest recipient. The PFA Alex Tobin OAM Medal is awarded only to the true legends of Australian football. It recognises players who have demonstrated: Leadership; Achievements as a player; Commitment to fellow professionals; and Service and dedication to the game.
Only four players have previously been recipients of this award: Johnny Warren, Joe Marston, Craig Johnston and Mark Viduka.
Fittingly, in a year where Brisbane Roar has been crowned back-to-back A-League champions, the medal will be awarded this year to one of the truly outstanding products of football from Queensland.