The recipients for each of the 34 awards categories at the PKF Kendons Capital Football Awards 2024 were announced last Friday 1 November at the awards evening.

250 people packed the Harbourside Function Centre to recognise the achievements and contributions of the Wellington football community. 

This year the Men's & Women's Central League Player of the Year Award winners were Ben Mata (Wellington Olympic) and Molly Simons (Wellington United) respectively. Both of whom had played a major role in their side's championship-winning seasons. 

Mata is the captain of the Wellington Olympic side and led his team to another Men’s Central League title. Olympic also engraved their names on the Chatham Cup, winning it for the first time in 15 years. Ben’s the first name on the team sheet every weekend and has a habit of bagging himself a goal or two. In his 15 League appearances, Ben got himself 8 goals playing in the backline. 

Simons has been the number-one keeper for the Wellington United Diamonds since 2019. She has had a standout season during 2024 playing 13 league games and keeping 8 clean sheets. Molly has made some outstanding saves this year, notably in the final game of the season helping the Diamonds claim the 2024 Central League title.

The Team of the Year, which is decided on by a public vote, went to Wellington Olympic's Men's Central League Team. Off the back of a National League Championship win in 2023, Olympic continued their football dominance in 2024 winning their 4th straight Central League title and doing the double winning the Chatham Cup too. 

Paul Ifill (Head Coach of Wellington Olympic) accepting the Team of the Year award

In the Futsal space, the Men's & Women's Futsal Player of the Year award winners were Sean Beresford and Libby Boobyer respectively. 

Beresford is an outstanding goalkeeper that Capital are lucky to have. Sean made his debut for the Futsal Whites this year when he represented them in Vietnam during international friendly matches against Morrocco, Iran and Vietnam. Sean also represented the New Zealand University team at the 2024 FISU World University Futsal Championships in Shanghai. Sean has incredible work ethic and immense passion for the game which has also seen him coach the Victoria University team to success this year. Capital wish Sean all the best for the 2025 season!

Boobyer has had yet again another incredible futsal season. Libby was a key player in the Capital Women’s Ford Futsal SuperLeague side and was a worthy recipient of MVP of the league. Libby performed outstandingly for the Futsal Ferns in the OFC Nations Cup, World Cup qualifiers. This was shown by being awarded Player of the Match against Solomon Islands, scoring 2 of the 4 goals in their 4-0 victory. Libby’s grit, skill and attitude makes her an incredible leader for women’s futsal. Congratulations Libby and we wish you all the best for your preparations for the FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup.

Two new awards were introduced into the awards lineup this year to further celebrate and recognise some of the amazing things going on in our Wellington football community.

The Club Programme of the Year was an award introduced to highlight the work that our clubs have done to encourage participation in the sport. This year's winner was Hutt MILO Fantails, hosted by Stop Out Sports Club. The Milo Fantails programme was introduced to provide more opportunities for young females to play. Hutt Fantails focused on creating a welcoming space for newcomers, the programme succeeded in attracting many new players to the game. 

In Term 1 of 2024, the Fantails programme attracted 20 players, many of which had never played organised football before. This influx of participants was so significant that it led to the formation of a girls-only U10 team at Stop Out, composed almost entirely of Fantails players.

The growth of the programme has continued to build with now over 50 female participants registered in Term 4! 

Jenna Reddy, the Hutt MILO Fantails lead coach, accepted this award on behalf of the Stop Out.

Another new award added this year was the Moment of the Year. This award highlights a specific memorable moment that took place in the season. And this year's winner was a massive moment! Decided by public vote, the 2024 Moment of the Year was awarded to Scott Basalaj (Wellington Olympic). After 9 converted kicks in the Chatham Cup final penalty shootout between Wellington Olympic and Auckland City, it was Olympic goalkeeper Scott Basalaj who guessed right and saved the crucial penalty to take the title. Wellington Olympic’s first in 15 years.

The Men's & Women's 2024 Central League XI's were revealed on awards night, congratulations to all players selected:

And new to the awards were the Men's & Women's Futsal Select 5 teams. Congratulations to the players selected:

The Kendons Club Championship is an award given to a club that accumulated the most average amount of points per game in the season. The 2024 winners are Wellington Olympic! 1.89 avg. points.

Full list of 2024 winners below:

Three Club Service Awards were also presented to club members for displaying an exceptional amount of dedication, commitment and passion to football in Wellington for over 20 years.

The three recipients were:

Terry Hills (Seatoun)
Anthony Mumby (Wellington United)
Adam Smith (Wainuiomata)

Article added: Tuesday 05 November 2024