You are almost guaranteed to find 'controversy' in the same sentence with 'awards ceremony'. It doesn't matter which field the awards are presented in, it is very seldom that people will see them the same way and agree on the outcomes. True to their nature, awards divide opinion because what's black to one person may be navy to the next. Not everyone will feel the same way about the same thing. All of this happens when emotions replace facts!
It seldom happens that everyone agrees on the nominees list, let alone eventual winners. The DStv Premiership 2022/23 season awards were no exception, with social media abuzz as football supporters expressed their disapproval, while others felt all was well. No one argued about the joint-Top Goal-scorers award (Khanyisa Mayo and Peter Shalulile) because there's no room for sentiment on this one. You score more than the rest of the players in the league and you ascend the podium to collect your award, which is exactly what Mayo and Shalulile did and couldn't be separated at 12 goals apiece. No discussion and no emotion, it is a straight-forward process and criteria. Amid all the controversy, you've got to applaud the PSL for doing away with the supporters' voting system for the Goal of the Season award, which, "let's be honest", had become more of a popularity contest. There was hardly any merit as the award was more about who commands more support than the rest and ultimately saw deserving candidates overlooked at the end of the season. Whether you want to admit that or not is entirely up to you! That the Goal of the Month awards are collated at the end of the season to decide the overall winner is the best possible solution. Kudos to the powers that be at the Parktown-based office.
There've been two contentious awards that refuse to shake controversy off, season after season. Now that the dust has settled, has it? One feels the need to finally have a say on the matter. You see, the Coach of the Season and Footballer of the Season awards continue to divide the football community in the country. Once again, awards are controversial by their nature, because people seldom agree on them, but if there was any justice in the process and criteria of these awards, there would be consistency. That's the only way to rid the game of all the conspiracy theories perpetuated by those who feel the more deserving candidates were snubbed or the awards fell in the wrong hands. We wouldn't have any bias issues or question marks about the awards. For instance, there is a hot debate about Orlando Pirates head coach, Jose Riveiro, who finished second to coach Rhulani Mokwena's Mamelodi Sundowns, in his first season at the club, and also winning Q-4 Innovation. The fact that coach Mokwena started the season as a co-coach with Manqoba Mngqithi until their 'cabinet reshuffle' has given credence to a case for Riveiro, in the eyes of many, as they believe the Spanish mentor was more deserving of the gong.
Truth be told, had coach Benni McCarthy not been awarded the 2020/21 Coach of the Season reward ahead of Mngqithi and Mokwena, after taking AmaZulu FC from the relegation zone to a second spot finish in the league, without winning any silverware, we wouldn't be where we are today! Back then, it was deemed enough for the former Bafana Bafana striker to finish as a runner-up and beat the two coaches who won the league to the podium to collect the Coach's award. He had done a splendid job of transforming and awakening a sleeping giant of South African football. However, do you see the precedent that was set by that decision? Now people are looking at that and comparing an apple with an apple in coach Riveiro, who has had a remarkable season with Pirates, like Benni at Usuthu, and went on to win two cup competitions, which obviously don't count for this prestigious gong. Pirates are also in the Champions League after a long time, thanks to the Spanish mentor's performance. This man has won the MTN8 and Nedbank Cup, but once again, the Coach of the Season award is strictly based on league games or performance.
Can you blame those who believe Riveiro deserved the award? Did we not open ourselves up to scrutiny by allowing coach Benni to be crowned as the best coach ahead of the league title-winning co-coaches? Now people are making a case for coach Jose based on that, although coach Mokwena thoroughly deserved the award. There was even an argument for coach Gavin Hunt for the massive difference he made since rejoining SuperSport United and pushing them to third. Do you know why? It is because we allowed sentiment to cloud our judgement and set a wrong precedent a few seasons ago. There should never be any room for argument or sympathy when it comes to the Coach of the Season. If the criteria clearly states that this award is judged based on league performances only, then so be it! How do you win the league and not become the Coach of the Season? There shouldn't be any discussion, just like it is the case with the Top Goal-scorer award – you win more games than everyone else and then the award belongs to you. After winning the league, how does anyone argue about who should win the Coach of the Season award? Why is there even a discussion? Once again, if this award is judged based on league games – which is the case – then how can a coach lead his team to be crowned league champions and not win the Coach of the Season award? Sentiment or emotion will be the only logical answer to that question!
The moment we open room for sentiment, by looking at two identical incidents differently, then we will find ourselves in the position we are in today. This dilutes the veracity of the awards and that's the last thing we need. If you are talking about the Most Improved Team of the Season, Bucs would beat everyone hands down to that title because they were, by far, the most improved if you factor their log position as well as the two trophies into the equation. Yes, coach Rhulani was in charge, as a sole head coach, in less games than his Bucs counterpart, as he started the season as part of the co-coaching arrangement, but can anyone argue about him winning this award? He was part of the technical team, so it is not like he joined Sundowns halfway through the season from nowhere. He was there all the time. These are all sideshows that distract people from the real issues and if we stuck to the criteria, none of this would be happening as these awards would be given out on merit rather than sentiment. We conceded an own goal that keeps on coming back to haunt us the day we allowed emotions to control us.
For the uninitiated, the PSL doesn't play any role in deciding who wins these awards as they are adjudicated by independent bodies who are observed by independent auditors to ensure the criteria is adhered to. So, if you have issues with the awards, the League is not the right place to vent. Our independent bodies need to do better in their decision-making by removing sentiments and sticking to the criteria and consistency – then maybe everyone will finally come to an agreement.
Cheers,
Veejay
