45th SWAG Awards: Why Felix Annan deserves Footballer of the Year Award

The much awaited 45th edition of the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) Awards took place on Saturday, October 10 at the Alisa Hotel, Accra.

The event was organized to honor distinguishing Ghanaian Sports athletes (both male and female) who performed admirably to the delight of Ghanaians and the sporting world.

There were several award winners with one particular category raising eyebrows.

Asante Kotoko goalkeeper Felix Annan was named the footballer of the year(local). Annan rebuffed competition from the likes of Shafiu Mummuni (formerly of AshantiGold FC) and Joseph Esso (ex-Hearts attacker now with Dreams FC).

Annan, winning the award has left many wondering especially at a period where he has lost his starting berth at club level to Kwame Baah.

In a bid to set the records straight and provide clarity on the development, the writer has taken time to explain why the Asante Kotoko captain deserves the award.

First of all, it is worthy of noting that the 45th edition of the SWAG Awards sought to reward best performing sports men and women; with the year under review being 2019. The 44th edition focused on 2018.

It is important to make this clear as it will form the basis of the points the author of this article shall raise.

With the tone already set, let’s proceed further by providing further clarity in the different football calendar years (in the case of Ghana vs major parts of Europe and the world).

Ghana’s football calendar have often been disrupted (for various reason) making it not to be in unison with that of the major European football leagues.

Therefore, as Jordan Ayew was playing the 2019-20 season for Crystal Palace and excelling, Felix Annan was however making a case for himself in what was the 2018-19 football season in Ghana.

By that time, the local football terrain was recovering from the trauma and shock of the Anas expose which shook the foundation of Ghana Football. The Ghana FA’s Normalisation committee had put together the NC Special Competition Tier 1 & 2.

This was in the second half of 2019 after the 44th edition of the SWAG Awards had already ben held.

This provides clarity and defeats the argument that Annan had been a bench warmer in the 2019-20 season hence does not deserve the award.

After providing the needed clarity, let’s proceed further once again to look at the exploits of Felix Annan that makes a case for him as a deserving winner of the accolade.

Annan led Asante Kotoko as captain and safest pair of hands in between the sticks to win the NC Special Competition Tier 1 when they beat Karela United in the final game.

They were also semi finalists in the Tier 2 of the special competition (lost to eventual winners, Shafiu Mumuni’s AshGold in the last four).

He also represented when Asante Kotoko featured in Africa’s premier club competition; the CAF Champions league.

Annan’s fine form saw him receive regular call-ups into Ghana’s senior national football team, the Black Stars and even made the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations squad for the tournament in Egypt.

During this period, he was undoubtedly the best goalkeeper on the local front and the local player whose stock and value had appreciated the most.

Annan was also part of the Black Stars ‘B’ squad that came second at the 2019 WAFU Cup of Nations which was hosted by Senegal.

Considering the above, it is worth celebrating a deserving winner of the SWAG Footballer of the year (local) category in Felix Annan. Suffice to add that Joseph Esso and Shafiu Mumuni also deserved nominations. They however lost to a more deserving winner.