Harambee Stars captain Michael Olunga is on course to winning another Player of the Year accolade after a stellar performance in Qatar that saw him finish the season with 24 goals while guiding Al Duhail to a second-placed finish.The Kenyan is expected to face stiff competition from the league-winning duo of Akram Afif and former Arsenal and Barcelona midfielder Santi Carzola, if the performance statistics issued by the Qatar Stars League as reported by Qatari media is something to go by.The Board of Trustees of Qatar Football Association Awards announced the start of the voting process for the nomination of best awards for the 2021-2022 season on Thursday this week, with the process expected to run for a week until March 24, and the winners announced thereafter. SAFA hands Akumu’s Chiefs a boostMichael Olunga emerges as the Qatar Stars League’s Top Scorer with 24 goals in 2021/22.He was the 2021 Asian Champions League Top Scorer (9 goals), 2020 Japanese J1 League Top Scorer (28 goals), J1 League MVP & was in the Best XI.2015 Kenyan Premier League Player of the Year. pic.twitter.com/7rzYzuwn4p— Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) March 12, 2022 According to reports from multiple publications in Qatar including Qatar Tribune and Qatar Today, Olunga topped the indicative list issued on Thursday this week by the QSL for the best player of the season with 85.1 points to lead the Al Sadd duo of Akram Afif and former Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla who were on 84.7 and 82 points respectively.The reports further indicated that Olunga’s coach at Duhail Luis Castro topped the indicative list for the best coach of the season, with Al Wakrah’s Marques Lopez and Al Sadd’s Javi Gracia coming second and third in that order.CAF CL: Brian Mandela sees red as Mamelodi Sundowns book quarters spotIf Olunga wins the award in Qatar, it will be the third time he will be doing so having been crowned the best player twice before, in Kenya and in Japan.In 2015, he was named Kenya Premier League’s player of the year after a successful season with Gor Mahia, beating his then teammate Karim Nizigiyimana, Ebrimma Sanneh, Bernard Mang’oli, and Jesse Were to the award.Olunga Is The Top Scorer In The League https://t.co/qF0CIzIlXx pic.twitter.com/l2WoRL3Zx3— ALDUHAIL SC 🏆 (@DuhailSC) March 11, 2022 He was again crowned the MVP in Japan’s top-tier league in 2020 after scoring 28 goals to emerge the top scorer and help steer Kashiwa Reysol to a seventh-place finish in their immediate season after promotion.The former Gor Mahia forward lifted his first trophy with Duhail on Friday as his side saw off Al Gharafa 5-1 in the Emir Cup final at the Khalifa International Stadium.
