JOHANNESBURG - Thulani Hlatshwayo, the Bidvest Wits captain and this season’s nominee for Footballer of the Year, was crowned the club’s Player of the Season on Wednesday night.
Absa Premiership champions Wits honoured players and staff at a ceremony held in Midrand to celebrate an unforgettable 2016/17 campaign, the Clever Boys winning their first ever league title in their 96-year existence.
Hlatshwayo not only walked away with the Player of the Season accolade, but was also voted for by his peers to clinch the Players’ Player of the Season award along with it.
This recognition will further affirm that his nomination for this year’s best player, together with Hlompho Kekana of Mamelodi Sundowns and Cape Town City’s Lebogang Manyama, was far from being a fluke.
‘Tyson’, as Hlatshwayo is popularly known, was a key player for Wits during their title-winning season, managing to feature in 24 of the club’s 30 league matches and scoring three goals.
As more evidence regarding his improvement as a player and leader, he was appointed permanent Bafana Bafana captain by recently appointed coach Stuart Baxter ahead of the national team’s historic 2-0 win away to Nigeria three weeks ago at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations opening qualifier.
The rest of the winners:
Coach:
Sifiso Hlanti
Chairman’s award:
Buhle Mkhwanazi
Top goal scorer:
Gabadinho Mhango
Young player:
Reeve Frosler
Players’ player:
Thulani Hlatshwayo