Joseph Mbong and Yulya Carella were crowned Men’s and Women’s Footballers of the Year, respectively, during the prestigious 2026 Malta FA Awards Night held on Tuesday evening.
The ceremony celebrated the finest performers across Maltese football throughout the season, with several players, coaches and personalities recognised for their outstanding achievements during the 2025/26 campaign.
Mbong enjoyed another exceptional season with Ħamrun Spartans F.C., playing a decisive role for the Spartans while also finishing as the top scorer in the YoHealth Malta Premier with 14 goals. Meanwhile, Carella’s impressive performances for Mġarr United F.C. earned her the Women’s Footballer of the Year award following another strong campaign in women’s football.
The evening also proved memorable for Floriana F.C. after the Greens’ successful title winning campaign saw both Federico Nicolás Varela Escudero and coach Daniel Portela honoured with the Foreign Player of the Year and Coach of the Year awards respectively. Floriana secured their first league championship since the 2019/20 season this year.
One of the standout moments of the evening saw Armando Melo Dos Santos Brenner of Xewkija Tigers F.C. claim the Best Goal of the Year Award following his spectacular halfway line strike against Melita F.C. in the Meridianbet FA Trophy.
Jake Azzopardi was named BOV Young Player of the Year after an impressive season with Valletta F.C., where he lifted both the Jubilee Cup and the Meridianbet FA Trophy while also earning several Malta senior national team call ups. Fellow Valletta youngster Thomas Melillo received the Men’s Youth League Best Player award after playing a key role in Valletta’s BOV Youth League A title triumph.
In women’s youth football, Nyorah Celeste of Hibernians F.C. captured the Assikura Women’s Youth League Best Player award after helping the Paolites secure a domestic youth double while scoring 17 goals throughout the campaign.
The BOV Challenge League Best Player award went to Paul Lapira of Birżebbuġa St Peter’s F.C., while Precious Uchechukwu Nwankwo of Attard F.C. and Ryan Dalli of Kalkara United F.C. claimed the top individual honours in the Amateur League divisions.
A particularly emotional moment during the awards ceremony came when Sava Radić received the President’s Award for his heroic intervention during Valletta’s Meridianbet FA Trophy quarter final against Ħamrun Spartans. Radić acted immediately after Mattias Garcia was left motionless following a collision, successfully helping clear the player’s airway before medical staff arrived on the scene.
The Gozitan Achievement Award was presented to Benjamin Hili of Swieqi United F.C. and the Malta Under 21 national team in recognition of his achievements throughout the season.
Meanwhile, Maltese football legend Alfred Mizzi, better known as “Il Pampalun”, was inducted into the Malta FA Hall of Fame. Widely regarded as one of Malta’s finest ever goalkeepers, Mizzi enjoyed a remarkable 20 year spell with Hibernians, winning multiple honours while also establishing an extraordinary clean sheet record of 1,055 competitive minutes without conceding.
The Malta FA Awards Night took place at the DoubleTree by Hilton as Maltese football gathered to celebrate another memorable domestic season across all levels of the game.
