Sports
Semenyo shortlisted for Premier League Player of the Season after historic campaign
Manchester City forward Antoine Semenyo has been named on the official eight-man shortlist for the 2025/26 Premier League Player of the Season award.
The Ghana international is nominated alongside his City teammate Erling Haaland, Manchester United talisman Bruno Fernandes, Arsenal trio Gabriel Magalhães, David Raya, and Declan Rice, Nottingham Forest playmaker Morgan Gibbs-White, and Brentford striker Igor Thiago.
A season of high-profile excellence, Semenyo earns his spot on the prestigious shortlist following a stunning breakthrough year where he registered 16 goals and four assists in 35 Premier League appearances.
The 26-year-old split his highly productive campaign between two clubs, starting the season in electric form for AFC Bournemouth before securing a high-profile £64 million transfer to Manchester City in January 2026.
The versatile attacker adapted instantly to life under Pep Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium.
He won the February EA SPORTS Player of the Month award after netting three goals in his first five games for City, and most recently opened the scoring in a 3-0 midweek victory over Crystal Palace.
Elite Competition for the Top PrizeThe Premier League confirmed that the winner will be decided by combining a public fan vote with the choices of an expert football panel.
Semenyo faces incredibly stiff competition from the other seven nominees who have dominated the 2025/26 landscape:
Midfielder Thomas Partey will miss Ghana’s first match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Toronto after Canadian authorities refused him entry.
A FIFA statement to The Athletic confirmed the Arsenal star cannot travel from Ghana’s base camp in Boston, USA, for Wednesday’s, June 17, opener against Panama.
“FIFA can confirm that player Thomas Partey will be unable to travel from Ghana’s team base camp in Boston, USA, to Canada for their first match against Panama on Wednesday, 17 June, as his visa application has been refused by the Canadian government,” the statement read.
FIFA stressed it has no role in immigration decisions: “FIFA is not involved in the immigration processes of host countries, including the adjudication of visas. As with previous FIFA events, the host government ultimately determines who receives a visa and is admitted into the country.”
Canadian immigration rules state that “if you have committed or been convicted of a crime, you may not be allowed into Canada.” Partey has been charged with offenses in the UK but is awaiting trial and has not been convicted.
The Black Stars will now have to do without their midfield anchor for the crucial Group E opener against Panama.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
Ghana have arrived in Providence, Rhode Island, for the final phase of preparations ahead of their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign. The team departed Virginia on Thursday afternoon and touched down at T.F. Green International Airport in Rhode Island at about 6:00 p.m.
Head Coach Carlos Queiroz and his squad will resume training on Friday as they fine-tune preparations for their opening Group L game against Panama.
The Black Stars wrapped up a week-long training camp in Washington following their international friendly against Wales in Cardiff.
The camp in Virginia included intensive sessions at the American University and D.C. United training ground and a farewell dinner with the Ghanaian community in Alexandria.
Ghana now enters the final stretch of preparation in Providence before heading to Toronto for the June 17 opener against Panama at Toronto Stadium.
The Black Stars will also face England in Boston on June 23 and Croatia in Philadelphia on June 27 to complete Group L.
Queiroz’s 26-man squad features captain Jordan Ayew, Thomas Partey, Iñaki Williams, Antoine Semenyo, and goalkeeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi, who is set for his second successive World Cup.
The team is expected to hold training sessions and series of Community engagement programs in Rhode Island in the coming days.
