The list of nominees for the UNFP Awards, which reward the best players, players, and coaches from the various French football leagues, has finally been revealed. On Thursday evening, April 30th, UNFP unveiled the complete list of nominees just a few days before the end of the championships. The award ceremony is scheduled for May 11th.
As the current best player in Ligue 1, Ousmane Dembele is logically among the contenders for his successor. The PSG forward will, however, have to contend with strong competition, including his teammates Vitinha and Nuno Mendes, as well as Mason Greenwood (OM) and Florian Thauvin (RC Lens).
In the category of young players, Désiré Doué (PSG), last year’s laureate, faces tough competition from Joao Neves (PSG), Warren Zaire-Emery (PSG), Barco (Strasbourg), and Ayyoub Bouaddi (Losc).
The Ligue 1 goalkeeper category highlights Brice Samba (Rennes), Dominik Greif (OL), Mike Penders (Strasbourg), Hervé Koffi (Angers), and Robin Risser (Lens). Safonov’s absence is due to insufficient playing time, as the regulation requires a minimum of 15 matches played.
Concerning the coaches, Luis Enrique is in the running to retain his trophy. He is accompanied by Bruno Genesio (LOSC), Olivier Pantaloni (Lorient), Paulo Fonseca (OL), and Pierre Sage (RC Lens), with the latter benefiting from the successful season of the club.
Among the French players abroad, Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid) is in competition with Hugo Ekitike (Liverpool), William Saliba (Arsenal), Rayan Cherki (Manchester City), and Michael Olise (Bayern Munich).
The Ligue 2 is also represented with Gauthier Larsonneur (Saint-Etienne), Hillel Konaté (Troyes), Gaetan Poussin (Red Star), Ewen Jaouen (Reims), and Quentin Braat (Rodez) for the title of best goalkeeper. In the player category, Martin Adeline (Troyes), Tawfik Bentayeb (Troyes), Zuriko Davitashvili (Saint-Etienne), Giovani Versini (Pau), and Enzo Bardeli (Dunkerque) are nominated, while Patrick Videira (Le Mans), Stéphane Dumont (Troyes), Grégory Poirier (Red Star), Fabien Dagneaux (Boulogne-sur-Mer), and Didier Santini (Rodez) are competing for the best coach title.
The female categories complete the list with Burns (Nantes), Wahl (Strasbourg), Endler (OL), Picaud (Fleury 91), and Chavas (Paris FC) for the best goalkeeper award. Bethi (Nantes), Yohannes (OL), Ebayilin (PSG), Rouquet (Montpellier), and Calba (Nantes) are in the running for the best hope of D1 award.
