Malta women’s international footballer Haley Bugeja was named the winner of the 2021 Atlas Youth Athlete of the Year in its second edition.
Bugeja, who is on the books of Serie A women’s team Sassuolo, won this prestigious award after a combined vote by sports journalists (60%) and a popular public vote on the Facebook page of the Malta Sports Journalists Association.
The Maltese starlet had claimed the December award. In her first year as a professional footballer, Bugeja topped Sassuolo’s scoring charts with 12 goals in the 2020/2021 season and was named the Serie A best youth player of the season as well.
She was also included in the IFFHS Women’s U-20’s Best XI of the year for the second time in a row.
Completing the top three of this annual award were Jeremy Zammit (Athletics – Long Jump) and Tokyo 2020 participant Sasha Gatt (Swimming).
The first edition was won by weightlifter Tenishia Thornton.
