Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) has announced a shortlist for the 2010 PFA Footballer of the Year and the PFA Harry Kewell Medal for Australia’s best player under the age of 23.

Amongst the nominee’s are a number of players who have come through the AIS men’s football program as scholarship holders.

Former Institute players nominated in the PFA Footballer of the Year award include Marco Bresciano, Josh Kennedy, Simon Colosimo and Luke Wilkshire.

Youngsters Robbie Kruse, Mitch Langerak and Dario Vidosic are amongst the 10 players nominated in the PFA Harry Kewell Medal.

The shortlists were voted on throughout the 2009/2010 football season at regular sittings of the highly credentialed PFA Awards Committee. 

Performances by PFA members in some of the world’s best club competitions, the A-League, the FIFA World Cup South Africa and the FIFA U20 World Cup Egypt were all taken into account.

Former AIS scholarship holder and now Melbourne Heart Captain Simon Colosimo said he was honoured to be nominated.

“One of the most satisfying achievements of a professional footballer’s career is the formal recognition of your peers,” Colosimo said.

“To be included on the short list for the PFA’s award is a fantastic acknowledgement of the hard work players put in all year.”

More than 300 PFA members based in Australia and throughout the world will now vote to determine the winners, who will be announced at the 2010 Australian Football Awards gala in Sydney on 7 October 2010.

The PFA Footballers’ Champion Awards are unique in Australian football as they are open to players plying their trade at home and abroad, take into account performances for both club and country and are voted for by the judges all professional footballers most highly regard – their peers.

The shortlist nominations are:

2009/2010 PFA Footballer of the Year
 
•         Marco Bresciano, Lazio, Italy (formerly Palermo)

•         Tim Cahill, Everton FC, England
•         Jason Culina, Gold Coast United, Australia
•         Scott Chipperfield, FC Basel, Switzerland 
•         Simon Colosimo, Melbourne Heart, Australia (formerly Sydney FC)
•         Carlos Hernandez, Melbourne Victory, Australia
•         Brett Holman, Az Alkmaar, Holland
•         Josh Kennedy, Nagoya Grampus, Japan
•         Harry Kewell, Galatasaray, Turkey
•         Mark Schwarzer – Fulham FC, England
•         Shane Smeltz, Gold Coast United, Australia
•         Luke Wilkshire, Dynamo Moscow, Russia

2009/2010 PFA Harry Kewell Medal (U23 PFA Footballer of the Year)
 
•         Leigh Broxham, Melbourne Victory, Australia
•         Ben Kantarovski, Newcastle Jets, Australia
•         Robbie Kruse, Melbourne Victory, Australia
•         Mitch Langerak, Borussia Dortmund, Germany (formerly Melbourne Victory)
•         Matthew Leckie, Adelaide United, Australia
•         Shane Lowry, Aston Villa, England
•         Tommy Oar, FC Utrecht, Holland (formerly Brisbane Roar)
•         Nikita Rukavytsya, Hertha BSC, Germany (formerly FC Twente) 
•         Dario Vidosic, Nuremberg, Germany
•         Rhys Williams, Middlesbrough Football Club, England