Atletico Madrid star Partey wins Ghana Footballer of the Year award

Atletico Madrid ace Thomas Teye Partey has been adjudged Ghana Footballer of the Year for the second straight time.

The midfielder beat off competition from Ghana and Asante Kotoko goalkeeper Felix Annan and Ghana senior women's team and U17 striker Mukarama Abdulai to pick the coveted gong at the Ghana Football Awards held in Accra on Sunday.

It was the 26-year-old's second award of the night having earlier fended off competition from new Celta Vigo and former Genk centre-back Joseph Aidoo and Inter Milan's Kwadwo Asamoah to claim the Foreign-based Player of the Year honour moments earlier.

Like Partey, 16-year-old Northern Ladies striker Abdulai walked away with two awards as she was adjudged Women's Footballer of the Year and Rising/Future Star of the Year following her exploits at last year's Fifa U17 Women's World Cup in Uruguay and the Wafu Cup in Cote d'Ivoire.

Elsewhere, Asante Kotoko's Abdul Safiu Fatawu won the Home-based Footballer of the Year prize ahead of club mate Annan and Hearts of Oak centre-back Mohammed Alhassan.

Kotoko's Charles 'CK' Akonnor was also picked ahead of Johnson Smith of Karela United and Augustus Evans Adotey of Ghana's national women's U17 side for the Coach of the Year honour.

The Kumasi-based club's quartet of awards was completed by the Team of the Year gong, a prize clinched ahead of arch-rivals Hearts of Oak and Ghana's national girls U17 team.

Annan may have lost out on the Ghana Footballer of the Year and Home-based Footballer of the Year gongs but he did not go home empty-handed as he won the Goalkeeper of the Year award, beating Nana Bonsu of Nigeria's Enugu Rangers and Ghana and Maritzburg United ace Richard Ofori.

Joseph Esso's strike for Hearts of Oak in their Special Competition clash with Dreams FC was adjudged Goal of the Year. Partey, Fatawu, Romania-based Joseph Mensah, Ghana internationals Majeed Ashimeru, Bernard Tekpetey, Mahatma Otoo, Abdul Majeed Waris and Hearts of Oak's Abdul Manaf Umar were all in contention for the award.

Dogo Moro and Wilberforce Mfum – the only two surviving members of the first Black Stars team - were handed Living Legend awards while the Professional Footballers Association of Ghana received the Thumbs Up Award for their contributions to the sport.