KUALA LUMPUR: Johor Darul Ta’zim’s (JDT) Arif Aiman Mohd Hanapi seems to have no peers in the local football arena as the striker was once again crowned as the Most Valuable Player for the third consecutive year at the 2023 National Football Awards (ABK23) last night.
The 21-year-old was simply in a class above the rest throughout the season, winning numerous titles with JDT and his exceptional performances has earned him a clean sweep of all four prestigious titles offered during the awards ceremony.
Apart from the MVP, the Pahang-born player was voted as the Best Striker, Best Young Player and scorer of the Best Goal of the season - the goal against Perak FC during their Malaysia Cup semifinal clash.
Arif Aiman also shared the top scorers award for local players with Mohd Faisal Halim with both having scored 12 goals each throughout the season.
Meanwhile, as expected, winning the 10th consecutive Super League title saw JDT walk away with the Best Team award and to cap a memorable night, JDT players also walked away with three other awards tonight.
Apart from Arif Aiman and JDT hogging the limelight, JDT’s Ahmad Syihan Hazmi took home the Best Goalkeeper Award while Muhammad Afiq Fazail was awarded the Best Midfielder Award and Bergson Da Silva walked away with the Best Import Player Award.
Terengganu FC won the Fair Play award while TFC midfielder Muhammad Ubaidullah Shamsul Fazili was voted as the Best Player and Muhammad Azam Azmi Murad swept the Best Defender Award.
The Best Coach Award was awarded to former Selangor coach Tan Cheng Hoe while Ayron Del Valle was adjudged as the Super League’s Top Scorer.
Kedah Darul Aman FC striker Ebenezer Kofi Assifuah-Inkoom clinched the MFL Trophy as the top scorer after having scored 16 goals.
Roll of Honour ABK23:
Pick of the local football fans (Fan XI):
Coach: Cheng Hoe
Goalkeeper: Ahmad Syihan
Defenders: Muhammad Azam Azmi, Jordi Amat (JDT), Shahrul Nizam (Terengganu), La’Vere Corbin-Ong (JDT).
Midfielders: Manuel Hidalgo (Kedah), Muhammad Afiq, Park Tae-su (Sabah)
Strikers: Arif Aiman, Bergson, Ayron.
