Qantas Socceroos, Pim Verbeek and Ben Kantarovski nominated

The Qantas Socceroos, the Qantas Socceroos Head Coach Pim Verbeek and Qantas Young Socceroo Ben Kantarovski have all been nominated as finalists in various categories of the 2009 Sports Performer Awards.

The Qantas Socceroos, the Qantas Socceroos Head Coach Pim Verbeek and Qantas Young Socceroo Ben Kantarovski have all been nominated as finalists in various categories of the 2009 Sports Performer Awards.

Following their recent qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the Qantas Socceroos have been nominated in the category of Team Performance of the year. The Qantas Socceroos reached 14th in the FIFA World Rankings in September this year, their highest ever position, and are currently the top ranked team in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Having guided the Qantas Socceroos through the Asian qualification process to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Head Coach Pim Verbeek has been nominated in the Coach Performer of the Year category. Pim's ability to bring out the best of Australia's top footballing talent saw his team qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, with two matches to play, scoring twelve goals and conceding only one in the final group phase of the competition.

2009 has been a busy year for Qantas Young Socceroo Ben Kantarovski who has been nominated in the Young Performer of the Year Category. Not only did Ben play for the Qantas Young Socceroos at the recent FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt, but he was also called into his first camp with the Qantas Socceroos, starred for the Newcastle Jets in their inaugural AFC Champions League campaign and all whilst studying for his HSC exams.

The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald present the third Sports Performer Awards. These Awards are one of the most prestigious prizes in Australian Sport - recognising the very best performers from the previous 12 months. Unlike other major awards, the winner of all categories will be determined by an online public vote with the highest tallied Performer of the Year taking home $50,000 prize money, courtesy of Colonial First State.

Sports fans can vote for their Performer of the Year by visiting www.performerawards.com.au up until Friday 20 November with the winners to be announced on Wednesday 25 November at a gala function to be held at Star City in Sydney.