The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) announced the opening of fan voting for the annual 2018 Concacaf Awards and there's a host of Portland Thorns FC among the nominees.
Midfielder Lindsey Horan is up for Female Best XI - Midfielders and is also up for Female Player of the year. Her teammates Tobin Heath and Christine Sinclair are among those up for Female Best XI - Forwards.
Voting is now open and will close on Tuesday, January 8, 2019, at 8:59pm PT.
Horan, 24, who earned the 2018 NWSL MVP and NWSL Best XI honors, finished the regular season ranked third in the NWSL with 13 goals, while tallying two assists in 22 matches (22 starts) for Portland. The Golden, Colo., native, was the league leader in a number of key statistics, including touches (1,852), duels won (297), aerial duels won (141) and successful passes in the opponent’s half (493). Horan also ranked among the league leaders in successful passes ending in the final third (252) and dribbles completed (44). Additionally, Horan scored the game-winning goal and registered an assist in Portland’s 2-1 NWSL semifinal victory over Reign FC on Sept. 15.
Heath, 30, who was a 2018 NWSL Best XI selection, tallied a career-high in goals (7), games played (17) and games started (14), and ranked tied for second in the league in assists (7). The Basking Ridge, N.J., native, finished the regular season with four consecutive matches with a goal scored (Aug. 18 – Sept. 7). Heath also scored Portland’s opening goal in the 2-1 NWSL semifinal win over Seattle Reign FC.
Sinclair, 35, who was a 2018 NWSL Second XI selection, was the only Thorns FC player to start all 24 games this season and to play every minute of every single match. During the regular season, Sinclair set career-highs in goals scored (9) and assists (6), which ranked third in the NWSL in 2018.
The Concacaf awards, which began in 2013 and will be presented for the sixth time, recognize players, coaches and referees at all age levels, who have excelled in Concacaf and FIFA-sanctioned tournaments involving the Confederation’s national teams and clubs.
AWARDS CATEGORIES
The Confederation will present the Awards in the following categories:
- Male Player of the Year
- Female Player of the Year
- Men’s Football Coach of the Year
- Women’s Football Coach of the Year
- Male Referee of the Year
- Female Referee of the Year
- Male Goalkeeper of the Year
- Female Goalkeeper of the Year
- Male Best XI
- Female Best XI
- Goal of the Year
VOTING PROCESS
Voting for the Concacaf Awards is a thorough process involving key stakeholders from the Confederation. The winners of each category shall be selected by the following 4 groups:
- National Team Head Coaches from Concacaf’s 41 Member Associations
- National Team Captains from Concacaf’s 41 Member Associations
- Experts from media houses selected by Concacaf
- Fans who will be able to vote by visiting the fan voting page on Concacaf.com
Each Voting Group shall have the same electoral weight (25% each) in the final result irrespective of the actual number of voters in those groups. All voters should base their judgement on performances by the nominees from January 1st, 2018 to December 10, 2018.
Final votes in each of the categories will be tallied and the winners will be announced January 2019, via Concacaf.com. Fans can have their say by visiting the fan voting page on Concacaf.com
The complete Rules and Procedures for the 2018 Concacaf Awards are available here.
