Adams, Ocloo top MTN FA Cup Awards nominations

Former Kumasi Asante Kotoko coach, Steve Polack, and his former Hearts of Oak counterpart, Frank Elliot Nuttall, will battle for the Coach of the Year accolade at the 2017/2018 MTN FA Cup Awards slated for M Plaza Hotel at a date to be confirmed.

The nominees list, which was unveiled last Wednesday by the MTN FA Cup Committee (FACC), also saw Okyeman Planners’ unsung Raphael Ocloo, getting two nominations in the Top Scorer and Most Promising Player categories.

Ocloo and Kotoko’s Saddick Adams are tied with five goals apiece.

The flagship  MTN FA Cup award — Most Valuable Player— will be keenly contested among Hearts’ midfielder, Winful Cobbina, Saddick Adams of Asante Kotoko and Amidaus Professionals’ Isaac Amoah.

The Best Defender of The Year category has Richard Akrofi (Hearts of Oak), Ahmed Adams (Asante Kotoko) and Ibrahim Yaro (Medeama) as the competitors, with David Abagna (Wa All Stars), Raphael Ocloo (Okyeman Planners) and Rashid Nortey (Medeama SC) being nominated for the Most Promising Player Award.

The reigning champions, Kotoko, bagged most of the nominations, including the Top Scorer, Game of The Year and Best Team Supporters awards.

Referee Charles Bulu, J.A. Amenya and Awal Mohammed will vie for the Referee of the Year award, while Shine Aryeetey, Kennedy Sarfo Adade and Samuel Asiedu contest for the Assistant Referee of the Year prize.

Special awards will also be presented to Mr Ebenezer Twum Asante, the immediate past CEO of MTN Ghana; Baba Mallam Nuhu (Northern Regional Football Association), Evans Adjei (Coach of Danbort FC), M Plaza Hotel, Nii Amo Cudjoe and Associates, and the Western and Ashanti Regional-Football Associations.