Evelyn Badu wins GhanaWeb Footballer of the Year

With a few days left for 2021 to come to a close, GhanaWeb rolls it back to assess Ghanaian footballers who have had a stellar year and name one as the footballer of the year.

This is a mixed category with both male and female players put together.

Evelyn Badu(winner)

The story of Hasaacas Ladies conquering Ghana, West Africa and becoming the second-best female club on the African continent, cannot be told without Evelyn Badu having a mention.

During the WAFU zone B champions League, Badu scored and won woman-of-the-match in the semi-final against USFA. Hasaacas Ladies eventually won the trophy.

In November, she had a remarkable performance at CAF Women’s Champions League in Egypt. She swept all the awards at the tournament and also made the best eleven.

Badu,18, won the top scorer award, netting a record five goals to become the first player to win the gong at the inaugural edition of the tournament. In addition, she also won the player of the tournament.

Although she and the club missed out on the ultimate, Badu regardlessly won four trophies with Hasaacas Ladies in 2021.

The Ghana Women’s Premier League, Ghana Women’s FA Cup and the WAFU Zone B Women’s Champions League and the maiden edition of the First Ladies Cup. Moreover, she has a silver medal after Hasaacas Ladies finished second in the CAF Women's Champions.

Salifu Ibrahim – First runner up

The Hearts of Oak midfielder had a memorable year. A year that brought him his biggest achievements in his early career.

Ibrahim Salifu emerged as the best player of the 2020/2021 Ghana Premier League(GPL) and also Ghana Football Awards’ best local-based player.

8 assists, 3 goals, and 8 man-of-the-match awards(more than any other player) were enough to land him the accolades.

The 21-year-old did not only have an impressive individual year but had trophies to show for putting in the shifts for his club.

He won the Ghana Premier League and the MTN FA Cup with Hearts of Oak.

Abdul Fatawu Issahaku – 2nd runner up

The 18-year-old will look back at 2021 and probably tip it as his best year so far in his budding career.

From winning the U-20 African youth championship, being linked with Liverpool, signing a sponsorship deal with sportswear giant Nike, and making his Black Stars debut.

In February, Fatawu showcased his exceptional talent to Africa and the World at large at the AFCON U-20 tournament when he scored screamers. Coupled with the goals, he was amazing and dropped excellent performances that earned him player of the tournament. Ghana U-20 emerged as competition winners in February.

Fatawu earned a Black Stars call up in March but was later dropped in the B squad-local based players. He scored a long-range free-kick on his debut for the Black Stars B in a friendly against Uzbekistan.

His impressive show landed him a sponsorship deal with Nike in May. English giant Liverpool and Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon all showered interest. At the moment, he plays for Dreams FC in the GPL.

Fatawu's deserving Black Stars debut came in October when he lasted 61 minutes in Ghana’s win over Zimbabwe in the World Cup qualifiers.