Achinioti-Jönsson Nominated for Defender of the Year

October 18, 2022 – Canadian Premier League (CPL) – Forge FC News Release

Forge FC defender Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson (left)
(Forge FC)

The Canadian Premier League (CPL) announced Tuesday that Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson has been nominated for this year’s inaugural Defender of the Year award honouring the best defender during the 2022 CPL regular season. Achinioti-Jönsson is one of three nominees alongside York United FC’s Dominick Zator and Pacific FC’s Amer Didic.

This is the first season the CPL will hand out a Defender of the Year award, which was announced in Sept. 2022.

Achinioti-Jönsson, 26, was key to Forge FC conceding the fewest goals (25) of any CPL club during the regular season. In his first season at centre-back, Achinioti-Jönsson seamlessly transitioned from defensive midfielder to the heart of the backline thanks to his distribution skills, passing accuracy and aerial presence. He celebrated making his 100th appearance for Forge this season and led the league with 1,996 passes. His nine blocks, 29 interceptions, 49 clearances and 31 aerial duals won were the most by any Forge player during the regular season.

The award will be voted on by select media members, with the winner revealed at an in-person ceremony during the league’s 2022 Finals Weekend.This year, voting for all of the CPL’s annual awards will be based on performances during the regular season, not including Canadian Championship, Concacaf or playoff action.

The winner of the Defender of the Year award will receive a unique piece of Inuit soapstone art, carved by artist Ruben Komangapik. The Walrus statue was chosen to honour the CPL’s best defender because the animal is one of the ocean’s toughest creatures, feared even by polar bears and killer whales, like a tenacious defender who is a guardian of the gates for his squad.

The in-person CPL awards ceremony will be held ahead of the league’s playoff championship match, to be played the weekend of either Oct. 29 or Oct. 30. The highest-seeded team to reach the playoff final will earn the right to host the championship match.

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