Brian Wright of York United has been named the 2024 Canadian Premier League Players’ Player of the Year, the league revealed on Thursday.
Voting for the award took place in early October and a total of 192 CPL players submitted their top three players, with five points awarded to their number one choice, three points for their second selection and one point for whomever they picked third.
Any player who played in the league in 2024 was eligible to vote and be included for consideration by the players. Players were not allowed to vote for anyone on their own team, and voting took place strictly based on how the players performed in the Canadian Premier League regular season.
In total, 46 players received votes during a process that saw players meet face-to-face with members of the Canadian Premier League office to give their choices. The results of the vote were revealed during Thursday evening’s 2024 CPL awards show in Calgary.
The Players’ Player of the Year is awarded the Muskox, a sculpture carved by Inuit artist Ruben Komangapik. The Muskox represents leadership, organization and defence of its most vulnerable members.
Wright finished with 290 points and was named on 92 of 192 ballots (48 per cent), receiving 30 first-place votes. He was not eligible to be named on 24 of them submitted by players from his own club.
Wright received the most points (69) from Cavalry FC players, being named on 23 ballots with seven first-place votes. Forge FC players named him on 19 of their ballots and Atlético Ottawa on 13 ballots.
Finishing second was Forge FC midfielder Tristan Borges with 180 points, named on 52 ballots with 24 first-place votes.
Borges received the most points from Pacific FC players (43), being named on 11 ballots with six first-place votes. Halifax Wanderers’ players named him on nine of their ballots and York United players voted for him on eight ballots.
Borges’ teammate in Hamilton, playmaker Beni Badibanga, finished third with 169 points, named on 49 ballots with 22 first-place votes.
Badibanga received the most points from Vancouver FC players (65), being named on 17 ballots with ten first-place votes. Players from Cavalry FC named him on 14 ballots and York United named him on eight ballots.
Cavalry FC defender, Daan Klomp, finished fourth with 164 points, named on 52 ballots with 20 first-place votes. Klomp received the most points from Valour FC players (42), being named on 12 ballots with five first-place votes. Vancouver FC players named him on 12 ballots and Forge FC players named him on nine ballots.
Golden Boot winner Tobias Warschewski, of Cavalry FC, finished fifth with 159 points, named on 39 ballots with 25 first-place votes. The German received the most points from Halifax Wanderers’ players (87), being named on 19 ballots with 15 first-place votes.
Forge FC skipper Kyle Bekker, runner-up in this award in 2023, finished sixth with 133 points, named on a total of 41 ballots with 17 first-place votes.
Ruben del Campo, striker for Atlético Ottawa, finished seventh with 101 points, named on a total of 39 ballots with nine first-place votes.
Last year’s winner, Ali Musse, of Cavalry FC, finished eighth with 94 points, named on a total of 34 ballots with seven first-place votes. Musse was only able to play 16 of 28 league games in 2024 due to injury.
Forge FC midfielder Alessandro Hojabrpour finished ninth with 73 points, named on a total of 29 ballots with seven first place votes.
Rounding out the top ten was Halifax Wanderers midfielder Lorenzo Callegari with 44 points, named on a total of 14 ballots with six first place votes.
The full top 20 is as follows:
- Brian Wright (York United) 290 points
- Tristan Borges (Forge FC) 180 points
- Beni Badibanga (Forge FC) 169 points
- Daan Klomp (Cavalry FC) 164 points
- Tobias Warschewski (Cavalry FC) 159 points
- Kyle Bekker (Forge FC) 133 points
- Ruben del Campo (Atlético Ottawa) 101 points
- Ali Musse (Cavalry FC) 94 points
- Alessandro Hojabrpour (Forge FC) 73 points
- Lorenzo Callegari (Halifax Wanderers) 44 points
- Callum Irving (Vancouver FC) 32 points
- Kwasi Poku (Forge FC) 30 points
- Alejandro Diaz (Vancouver FC) 29 points
- Manny Aparicio (Atlético Ottawa) 25 points
- Daniel Parra (Forge FC) 24 points
- Themi Antonoglou (Valour FC) 23 points
- Mo Babouli (York United) 21 points
- Aboubacar Sissoko (Atlético Ottawa) 18 points
- Sergio Camargo (Cavalry FC) 13 points
- Noah Jensen (Forge FC) 12 points
The following players also received votes and are listed in alphabetical order:
Noah Abatneh (York United), Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson (Forge FC), Elijah Adekugbe (York United), Roberto Alarcón (Valour FC), Ollie Bassett (Atlético Ottawa), Marco Carducci (Cavalry FC), David Choinière (Forge FC), Amer Didić (Atlético Ottawa), Moses Dyer (Pacific FC), Max Ferrari (York United), Massimo Ferrin (Halifax Wanderers), Emil Gazdov (Pacific FC), Tomas Giraldo (York United), Diego Gutiérrez (Cavalry FC), Shaan Hundal (Valour FC), Nathan Ingham (Atlético Ottawa), Shola Jimoh (York United), Christopher Kalongo (Forge FC), Thomas Meilleur-Giguère (Pacific FC), Nassim Mekideche (Halifax Wanderers), Garven Metusala (Forge FC), Dan Nimick (Halifax Wanderers), TJ Tahid (Vancouver FC), Ryan Telfer (Halifax Wanderers), Tyr Walker (Atlético Ottawa), Thomas Vincensini (York United).