A-League Men Young Footballer of the Year
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Use Australian English|date=June 2020}}
{{About|the best young player award in the Australian premier men's association football league|the equivalent award in the women's league of the same name|A-League Women Young Footballer of the Year}}
File:Marco Rojas.jpg is the only player to win the award while winning the Johnny Warren Medal in the same season.]]
The A-League Men Young Footballer of the Year is an annual association football award given to the player aged 23 or under at the start of the season who has been judged to have had the best season of any young player in the A-League Men. It is currently called the NAB Young Footballer of the Year for sponsorship purposes.{{cite web|url=http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/awards/aleague_about |title=Hyundai A-League Awards |access-date=27 October 2014 |publisher=Football Federation Australia |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516151622/http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/awards/aleague_about |archive-date=16 May 2013 }} The award has been presented since the 2005–06 season and the winner is chosen by a panel of experts and media representatives. In 2014, the age for eligibility was lifted from 21 to 23.{{cite news|title=NAB Young Footballer of the Year candidates named|publisher=A-League|date=29 October 2014|access-date=30 October 2014|url=http://www.a-league.com.au/article/nab-young-footballer-of-the-year-candidates-named/18yts23yjw4sy1kv6x8z35ymof}} The first winner of the award was Perth Glory midfielder Nick Ward.
As of 2017, Mathew Ryan and Jamie Maclaren are the only players to have won the award on more than one occasion. Marco Rojas and Alex Paulsen are the only non-Australian winners of the trophy. Players aged 23 or under at the start of the season remain eligible to win the Johnny Warren Medal, and in 2013 Rojas won both awards.
Since 2009, one player has been awarded a nomination for the award each month of the season, with the eventual winner then selected from the nominees.
In 2024, the award was awarded to two players for the first time, with Nestory Irankunda and Paulsen tying.
Winners
File:Adrian Leijer.jpg was the second-ever recipient of the award.]]
The award has been presented on 19 occasions as of 2024, with 18 different winners.{{cite web|url=http://www.a-league.com.au/about/our-history/ubjd1030hnyy1bgqqajtntuuy|title=Our History|publisher=A-League|access-date=27 October 2014}}
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+Key !scope="row"|Player {{small|(X)}} |Name of the player and number of times they had won the award at that point (if more than one) |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center; background:#ffb"|§
|Denotes the club were A-League premiers in the same season |
|---|
Breakdown of winners
=By nationality=
| class="sortable wikitable plainrowheaders" |
| scope="col"|Country
!scope="col"|Total |
|---|
| scope="row"|{{flagcountry|AUS}}
|align="center"|{{nts|18}} |
| scope="row"|{{flagcountry|NZL}}
|align="center"|{{nts|2}} |
=By club=
| class="sortable wikitable plainrowheaders" |
| scope="col"|Club
!scope="col"|Total |
|---|
| scope="row"|Adelaide United
|align="center"|{{nts|5}} |
| scope="row"|Brisbane Roar
|align="center"|{{nts|3}} |
| scope="row"|Central Coast Mariners
|align="center"|{{nts|2}} |
| scope="row"|Melbourne City
|align="center"|{{nts|2}} |
| scope="row"|Melbourne Victory
|align="center"|{{nts|2}} |
| scope="row"|Newcastle Jets
|align="center"|{{nts|2}} |
| scope="row"|Perth Glory
|align="center"|{{nts|2}} |
| scope="row"|Sydney FC
|align="center"|{{nts|1}} |
| scope="row"|Wellington Phoenix
|align="center"|{{nts|1}} |
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
{{A-League Young Footballer of the Year}}
{{A-League}}
Category:Association football player non-biographical articles
Category:Association football young player of the year awards