Ghana Forward Inaki Williams Wins Best African Player Award in Spain

• Inaki Williams has been named the best African player in the Spanish La Liga
• The Ghanaian international won the award after the first portion of the season
• He beat compatriot Joseph Aidoo and Morocco's Yassine Bounou to the award

Black Stars and Athletic Bilbao forward, Inaki Williams has been named the best African player in La Liga for the first half of the campaign.

The 28-year-old beat Yassine Bono (Sevilla FC), Reinildo Mandava (Atlético Madrid), Joseph Aidoo (RC Celta), Pathé Ciss (Rayo Vallecano), Nicolas Jackson (Villarreal CF), Youssouff Sabaly (Real Betis) and Djené Dakonam (Getafe CF) to win the award.

The Spanish-born Ghanaian has been in splendid form for the Rojiblancos this season, scoring five goals in 18 games.

“Iñaki Williams has long established himself as a fantastic footballer whose name will forever be etched in the LaLiga history books, and he is a popular and worthy winner of the LaLiga Santander Mid Season African MVP Award," said Marcos Pelegrin, LaLiga’s Southern Africa Managing Director, as quoted by Super Sport.

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Pelegrin explained the award was seen as a tribute to the major contributions of many African players over the years to La Liga, but was also an acknowledgement of the growth of the Spanish league among passionate African fans.

"We warmly congratulate Iñaki for this award and thank everyone who participated in this popular competition."

Williams' record of 362 consecutive games, the most by any player in La Liga history, came to an end after he missed the match against Celta Vigo.

Inaki Williams misses a game

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that while milestones come and go, the record set by Williams will take some time to be broken.

The Ghanaian forward was forced to relinquish his incredible La Liga appearance record, after missing Athletic Club’s tie against Celta Vigo through injury on January 29.

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According to Goal, Williams was forced to miss his first club match since 2016 due to physical discomfort, ending a run of 251 consecutive La Liga games for Athletic Bilbao.

Williams explains his Ghana switch

Williams has finally explained why he chose to play for the Black Stars of Ghana at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, stating his grandfather had convinced him.

The 28-year-old, who plays for La Liga club Athletic Bilbao, joined his teammates at the prestigious tournament in the Middle East.

En route to the World Cup, Ghana dismissed the Super Eagles of Nigeria in the play-offs to earn their ticket to the global football spectacle.