Harry Kewell Medal

Harry Kewell Medal
Mathew Ryan has won the award three times.
SportAssociation football
CountryAustralia
Presented byPFA
History
First award2009
Editions14
First winnerAustralia Nikita Rukavytsya
Most winsAustralia Mathew Ryan (3 wins)
Most recentNew Zealand Alex Paulsen
WebsiteOfficial website

The PFA Harry Kewell Medal is an annual award given for outstanding performance by an under-23 player playing in the A-League or overseas-based Australian. The award has been presented since 2008–09, and the winner is chosen by a vote amongst the members of the players' trade union, Professional Footballers Australia (PFA). It is named after former Australian star Harry Kewell, who represented Australia between 1996 and 2012, and was noted for his achievements from a young age.[1] The first winner of the award was Perth Glory winger Nikita Rukavytsya. The most recent winner is Jordan Bos.

As of 2020, only Mathew Ryan has won the award on more than one occasion. Three players from outside of Australia, Marco Rojas, Liberato Cacace and Alex Paulsen (all from New Zealand), have won the award. Although they have their own dedicated award, players aged 23 or under at the start of the season remain eligible to win the PFA Men's Footballer of the Year award, and on one occasion the same player has won both awards for a season.

Winners

The award has been presented on 13 occasions as of 2020, with 11 different winners.

Year Player Club Notes
2008–09 Australia Nikita Rukavytsya Australia Perth Glory
2009–10 Australia Mitch Langerak Australia Melbourne Victory First goalkeeper to win the award
2010–11 Australia Robbie Kruse Australia Melbourne Victory
2011–12 Australia Mathew Ryan Australia Central Coast Mariners
2012–13 New Zealand Marco Rojas Australia Melbourne Victory First winner from outside Australia
2013–14 Australia Mathew Ryan Belgium Club Brugge First player to win the award twice
First player to win the award playing for a non-A-League club
2014–15 Australia Mathew Ryan Belgium Club Brugge First player to win the award three times
First player to win the award in consecutive seasons
2015–16 Australia Jamie Maclaren Australia Brisbane Roar
2016–17 Australia Alex Gersbach Norway Rosenborg BK
2017–18 Australia Daniel Arzani Australia Melbourne City
2018–19 Australia Chris Ikonomidis Australia Perth Glory
2019–20 New Zealand Liberato Cacace New Zealand Wellington Phoenix
2020–21 Australia Connor Metcalfe Australia Melbourne City
2021–22 Australia Denis Genreau France Toulouse
2022–23 Australia Jordan Bos Australia Melbourne City
2023–24 New Zealand Alex Paulsen New Zealand Wellington Phoenix

Breakdown of winners

By country

Country Number of wins Winning years
Australia Australia
14
 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22 2022–23
New Zealand New Zealand
3
 2012–13, 2019–20, 2023–24

By club

Club Number of wins Winning years
Australia Melbourne City
3
 2017–18, 2020–21, 2022–23
Australia Melbourne Victory
3
 2009–10, 2010–11, 2012–13
Belgium Club Brugge
2
 2013–14, 2014–15
Australia Perth Glory
2
 2008–09, 2018–19
New Zealand Wellington Phoenix
2
 2019–20, 2023–24
Australia Brisbane Roar
1
 2015–16
Australia Central Coast Mariners
1
 2011–12
Norway Rosenborg
1
 2016–17
France Toulouse
1
 2021–22

See also

References

  1. ^ Lynch, Michael (12 October 2013). "Kewell sets Heart racing". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 May 2020.