CONCACAF announced the nominations for the fifth annual CONCACAF Awards on Wednesday, and there is plenty of representation among MLS players and Americans abroad.
Three MLS players are on the shortlist for Male Player of the Year: Philadelphia Union goalkeeper Andre Blake, Toronto FC forward Jozy Altidore, and Seattle Sounders forward Clint Dempsey. In addition, US international Christian Pulisic is in the running.
Blake, who was named the best goalkeeper in the 2017 Gold Cup for his performances with Jamaica, is also up for Male Goalkeeper of the Year, alongside Colorado Rapids netminder Tim Howard.
Two MLS coaches are nominated: Toronto FC's Greg Vanney and Atlanta United's Gerardo "Tata" Martino, for Men's Coach of the Year. And two referees who work regularly in MLS have been shortlisted, Mark Geiger and Jair Marrufo, for Male Referee of the Year.
Several MLS players are also nominated for the Best XI award among male players: Alberth Elis (Houston Dynamo), David Villa (NYCFC), Nemanja Nikolic (Chicago Fire), Diego Valeri (Portland Timbers), David Guzman (Portland Timbers), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Joevin Jones (Seattle Sounders), Kendall Waston (Vancouver Whitecaps), Roman Torres (Seattle Sounders), Dempsey and Altidore. US international Omar Gonzalez, who won the CONCACAF Champions League with Pachuca in 2017, is also nominated in this category.
And three goals from MLSers have been nominated for Goal of the Year. First is David Villa's bomb from behind the halfway line against the Union, and there are two from MLSers at the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup: Altidore's free kick against Jamaica in the Gold Cup final, and Kemar Lawrence's free kick winner for Jamaica against Mexico in the Gold Cup semifinal.
Eligibility for the CONCACAF Awards among players comes from either hailing from CONCACAF member nations or playing in competitions in CONCACAF member nations. Club and international form in CONCACAF were both considered by the CONCACAF technical committee in selecting nominees for the various categories.
Voting for the 2017 CONCACAF Awards will be split even into thirds between the media vote, member associations' national team head coaches and captains' vote, and the fan vote. Voting is open until 11:59 pm ET on December 13. Fans can also vote on social media, with details available on CONCACAF's awards' website.
