Star Ball has found a hero

The best football player of Belarus 2023 has been chosen

Bingo! The intrigue was resolved finally and irrevocably. To the sound of fanfare, the ABFF summed up the results and named the best representatives of the football year going down in history.

Max Ebong had a great season and rightfully became the best football player of the year

The laureates and numerous guests sported expensive tuxedos, sparkled with smiles, clinked glasses — sleek and happy, they devoured food with excellent appetite and partook of the celebration organised for them on a grand scale, mentally imagining themselves in the image of Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, trying on the laurels of Luciano Spalletti or Jürgen Klopp. Living well isn’t against the law, and a banquet is a sacred thing, especially when the busy season is left behind. It doesn’t matter that he didn’t bring great success either on the domestic front or in the international arena; the main thing is to believe in the best and look to the future with optimism. In ABFF, apparently, there are no problems with this: they look and believe that it, a bright and enthusiastic tomorrow, will come quite soon. Meanwhile, the fans continue to wait patiently, sadly asking themselves a simple and banal question: when will representatives of the Belarusian football elite be able to express themselves not only on the dance floor and in the chic surroundings of fashionable restaurants, but also in harsh battle in the stadiums of the world? We would like, you know, that reaching the group round of at least the most modest UEFA Conference League (not to mention winning a place in the final round of the World or European Championship) would no longer seem like a chimera, look fantastic and distant, like the Andromeda Nebula, but would become more or less specific outlines that you can reach and feel. But a social event, whatever one may say, is still good and pleasant. After all, it’s true what they say: whoever rests well works well! Or vice versa: whoever worked, also rested?
The process of festive materialisation of spirits and distribution of elephants was preceded by a meeting of the ABFF executive committee, which, having gathered within the walls of the Football House, officially closed the year, resolving several pressing work issues. In particular, the council decided that the new season will start on February 25th with a match for the Super Cup, in which the teams of FC Dinamo Minsk and FC Torpedo-BELAZ Zhodino will compete. The first matches of the quarterfinal stage of the Belarus Cup will be held from March 1st to March 3rd. And the games of the first round of the 34th national championship in the major league will begin on March 14th. In addition, the executive committee unanimously decided to increase the amount of application fees for participation in the elite division: instead of Br41 thousand, you now need to get Br80 thousand from wide trouser legs. In addition, the limit on young players was canceled by a majority vote: from now on, no one will force teams to let them onto the field It is imperative that the guys grow and progress by getting playing practice. What the previous leadership of the ABFF presented almost as a feat, a panacea and the path to a bright future for all domestic football, the new management hastily wrote off as scrap and anathematised, throwing it out of the head and heart like an old unnecessary rag. However, there is little surprise here: a new broom sweeps in a new way — this has always been the case in our football. What will come of it all this time, life will show.
For now, we can safely state only the following: the ceremony evening was a success! A 24-year-old midfielder Max Ebong, who was born in Vitebsk, blossomed in Soligorsk, and now plays in Kazakhstan for Astana, was recognised the best football player of 2023. You can’t argue with the choice: the guy really had a great season. And most importantly, he looked more confident and better than everyone else in games for the Belarusian national team. One has only to wish Ebong that, after recognition, he continues to improve his skills and climb up, and not go head over heels downhill, as happened with his predecessors: three heroes of previous years (Maksim Skavysh, Andrey Solovey and Vladimir Khvashchinskiy) after they were recognised as the best players of the year suddenly they lost either luck or motivation and turned into their own pale shadow. 

Star Ball 2023
Player of the Year — Max Ebong (Astana).
Coach of the Year — Igor Kovalevich (FC Neman).
The best referee is Aleksey Kulbakov.
The best goalkeeper of the championship is Sergey Ignatovich (FC Shakhtyor Soligorsk).
The best defender of the championship is Sergei Karpovich (FC Neman).
The best midfielder of the championship is Artem Kontsevoy (FC BATE).
The best player of the championship, forward and scorer — Vladislav Morozov (FC Dinamo Minsk).
The best player in beach soccer is Igor Brishtel (BSC Kristall).
The best player in mini-football is Dmitry Shvedko (MFC Stalitsa Minsk).
The best football player of the year is Anna Pilipenko (FC Dinamo Minsk).

By Sergey Kanashits