Mandla Ncikazi Questions Why Saleng Didn’t Win Footballer of the Season Award

• Mamelodi Sundowns' Teboho Mokoena won the Premier Soccer League's Footballer of the Season award
• Orlando Pirates' Monnapule Saleng won the DStv Premiership's Players' Player of the Season award
• Buccaneers assistant coach Mandla Ncikazi wants answers on why Mokoena beat Saleng to the award

The debate rages on whether Teboho Mokoena deserved to win the Footballer of the Season award.

The Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder won big at the recent PSL Awards, winning the DStv Premiership Midfielder of the Season title and the big prize.

Following Mokoena winning the award, the debate began over who deserved it more.

The Footballer of the Season award honours the best-performing player across the DStv Premiership, Nedbank Cup, and MTN8, with many arguing that Saleng performed the best across all three competitions.

Coaches vote for the Footballer of the Season award but are not allowed to vote for a player from the club they coach.

Maradona to Mertens: List of top 10 Napoli legends of all time ranked

Football

As noted by TransferMarkt, Saleng played 30 games for the Buccaneers, scoring 15 goals and notching 11 assists.

While he did win the DStv Premiership Players’ Player of the Season trophy, fans argued that he deserved the main prize too.

As noted by Goal, Sundowns coach, Rhulani Mokwena defended the decision to name Mokoena the winner, saying it was not only about statistics.

"The influence of the Footballer of the Season goes way beyond just the goals and the assists,” he said.

He explained that judges needed to look at the different dynamics of the various positions and the demands of those positions.

Orlando Pirates assistant coach, Mandla Ncikazi believes differently and wants the judging panel to explain how they chose the winner.

While Ncikazi acknowledged that Mokoena did an excellent job this season, he believes Saleng deserved to win the award more, The Citizen reported.

Orlando Pirates' fans celebrate Soweto giants securing CAF Champions League qualification

Football

“Teboho Mokoena’s work is there for everyone to see. I don’t want it to look like Pirates are against the success of Sundowns; however, in my opinion, the judges should clearly explain the things they use to choose these players."

He has demanded the panel explain the metrics used to rank Mokoena above Saleng.

“For example, people see that Saleng has 11 goals and eight assists in the league, but his counterpart has one goal and one assist,” he added.

Mokoena wins big at awards

The best footballers, coaches and officials in South Africa were honoured after another incredible season, Sports Brief reported.

With the Nedbank Cup final officially ending the season, the Premier Soccer League awards were held to crown the best players.

Mokoena took home the trophy for the DStv Premiership Midfielder of the Season and the award for the season's best player.