The Canadian Premier League (CPL) announced Tuesday that Kwasi Poku has been nominated for this year’s Best Canadian Under-21 Player award, honouring the best player aged 21 or younger during the 2023 regular season. Poku is one of three nominees alongside Vancouver FC’s James Cameron and Valour FC’s Matteo De Brienne, nominated for the award by members of the league office.
Poku, 20, turned heads in his second season with Forge FC displaying his talents as both a left-back and a winger throughout the campaign. The native of Brampton, Ontario appeared in 21 games playing a total of 1,337 minutes. Poku recorded two goals and two assists on the season and had his defensive ability on display registering 13 interceptions and 65 ball recoveries. The Canadian under-20 national team player was named CPL Player of the Week, and included in the Gatorade Team of the Week, in week 24, as the standout player in Forge’s 3-1 victory over Pacific FC. In a veteran team such as Forge, Poku has established himself as a key part of the next generation.
The winner will be decided through voting by CPL club technical leadership and selected media members representing local and national outlets who consistently covered the 2023 CPL regular season. The winner will be revealed at an in-person ceremony in Hamilton, Ont. on Thursday, October 26 as part of the festivities surrounding CPL Final weekend ahead of the league’s playoff championship match, to be played on Saturday, October 28 at 6 p.m. ET, at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario.
Voting for all the CPL’s annual awards will this year be based on performances during the regular season, not including Canadian Championship, Concacaf or playoff action.
The winner of the Best Canadian Under-21 Player will be awarded a unique piece of Inuit soapstone art, conceived by artist Taqialuk Nuna. The Polar Bear statue is awarded annually to the CPL’s Best Canadian Under-21 Player because, like a developing player, the animal grows from a playful young cub to one of the most respected and formidable animals roaming Canada’s North.
The 2023 CPL Awards ceremony will be broadcast live on the dedicated soccer channel OneSoccer, available as a linear channel on Optik TV (Ch. 980), the pay-TV service operated by Telus, one of Canada’s “big three” telecoms companies, as well as on streaming service FuboTV Canada. OneSoccer is also offered as an affordable streaming service through the OneSoccer.ca website, via Roku, Chromecast and Apple TV devices and with the OneSoccer app for iOS and Android devices.