Tuesday, December 14th 2010 – Kingston, Jamaica: Jamaican centre-midfielder, Rodolph Austin, has been named the winner of the Digicel Caribbean Cup 2010 Player of the Tournament award.
Wearing the number 17 shirt for Jamaica, Austin scored the first goal in the nail-biting penalty shoot-out in the Digicel Caribbean Cup final against Guadeloupe in which the Reggae Boyz won 5-4 to take home the Championship title for a second consecutive time.
Digicel Group Head of Sponsorship, Karl Donnelly, said; “The Digicel Caribbean Cup 2010 was the biggest and best tournament to date so a hearty congratulations to Rodolph on his well-deserved win. Given the standard of football and of players we’ve seen throughout this year’s Digicel Caribbean Cup, he can be very proud to have taken the coveted title.”
As the winner, Austin not only walks away with the Digicel Player of the Tournament title, but also receives a brand new Samsung Galaxy tablet, which has been touted as “a serious competitor to the Apple iPad, boasting two cameras, Flash compatibility, and a more convenient size”.
A former Portmore United F.C. player, Austin now plays for the Norwegian Premier League side, Brann. He debuted in European competitions in 2008 with a 2-0 win against Deportivo de La Coruña in the UEFA Cup, and on February 27th 2009, signed a four-year deal with Brann in a transfer reportedly worth GB£1,000,000.
The award was decided based on votes taken from www.digicelfootball.com; the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) officials; Team coaches (who cannot submit a vote for a player on their own team); the four official match commissioners, the Digicel Caribbean Cup TV commentators and finally sponsors, Digicel – all of whom casting one vote each.
Jamaican winger, Dane Richards, and Grenadian striker, Kithson Bain, who were last week named joint winners of the Digicel Golden Boot award having scored three goals each during the Digicel Caribbean Cup finals 2010, also came close runners-up in the Player of the Tournament award.