Keishen Bean, of BAA, PHC Zebras’ Tre Ming and Jaylon Bather, of Robin Hood, have been shortlisted for this season’s Most Valuable Player in the Premier Division, while Anwar Telford and Donte Brangman of promoted clubs Somerset Eagles and Southampton Rangers are the First Division contenders along with Chris Caisey of Hamilton Parish.

The winners will be announced at the Bermuda Football Association’s “Heroes” Awards Gala, which is scheduled for Saturday night in the Earl Cameron Theatre at City Hall, starting at 7.30pm.

The BFA explained the decision behind the theme for this year’s awards. “Everyone needs a hero at some point in their life,” they said yesterday.

“Heroes come in all forms and for different reasons. We are using this opportunity to make the point that those who occupy our space through their talents must recognise and accept their obligation and responsibility to uphold the good values that we all seek and desire, especially in football.”

Bean scored 20 goals in his first season with promoted side BAA, half of their 39 league goals, as they finished sixth in the standings. He was also on the shortlist for last year’s top award when with North Village.

Ming netted ten times for PHC from midfield as the Zebras retained their league title, clinching a record eleventh league title. They also retained the Friendship Trophy, winning it for a record twelfth time after beating Dandy Town in the final.

Bather, like Ming a Bermuda international, has had another consistent season in the Hood defence as they finished second in the league behind the Zebras and held on to the FA Cup they won last year. Bather was the Defensive Player of the Year last season.

Marco Warren, of PHC, was last year’s Premier Division MVP as the Zebras dominated the awards at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute. Scott Morton was the Coach of the Year last season, Daren Usher the Young Player of the Year and Quinaceo Hunt the Goalkeeper of the Year.

The three contenders for Premier Division Young Player of the Year are Nathan Rego, of BAA, Deandre Lightbourne, of PHC and Eusebio Blankendal, of Dandy Town. In the First Division, the top three for Young Player are Sage Paynter, the St George’s striker who netted 13 goals in the league, Azar Morrissey, of Somerset Eagles, and Rai Sampson, of Southampton Rangers.

Morton, who has ended a three-year stint as PHC head coach to concentrate on his duties as assistant coach of the Bermuda team, is again in the running for Coach of the Year. The other two on the shortlist are Farid El Karfa, of X-Roads, and John Nusum, of Robin Hood.

Brian Dickinson, of Vasco da Gama, who returned to the BFA league this season after a long absence, is one of the three contenders for First Division Coach of the Year. The other two are Jomar Wilkinson, of Southampton Rangers, and Jensen Rogers of Somerset Eagles, who guided their teams to promotion.

“The nomination process for the above awards was conducted in two phases,” the BFA explained. “During the first phase, club coaches were required to nominate individuals only from their team.

“Once all nominations were received from the clubs, the completed list of nominations were sent to the clubs for the second phase of nominating. During the second phase, club coaches were required to select from the list of nominations. However, the coaches could not select from their own team.

“Coaches had to rank the top three players of their choice in each category. The top ranked player received five points, second ranked player received three points and the third ranked player received one point. The Award will be presented to the player or coach who receives the most points.

“The association will also present the Order of Merit Awards as a token of appreciation to the individuals selected who have served the association or the game of football in an exemplary manner, whether in a professional or voluntary capacity, while demonstrating meritorious commitment, by holding the image and integrity of the sport through development, social delivery and other forms of positive activity.”

The association will also recognise this year’s “BFA Legends”, five people who have committed many years of dedication while supporting the development and promotion of football.

The five, twins Richard and Robert Calderon, Leslie White, Randy Bean and the late Allan Peacock, “all served Bermuda with pride and distinction in the realm of football and for being a positive role model through football.” The five Legends will also champion the 2019 edition of the BFA Legends Scholarship Awards.