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Premiership by being named Rookie of the Year at Ajax Cape Town.
Billiat, signed from the Aces Youth Academy after a brief and unhappy stint at CAPS United where he was booed by fans, received R30 000 for his efforts.
He turned himself into one of the key players in the Ajax team that came close to winning the league championship only to collapse on the final day after a 2-2 draw, where goalkeeper Hans Vonk made the mother of all blunders, against Maritzburg United.
Bafana Bafana forward Thulani Serero, who said Billiat was a better player than him, won the Player of the Season.
Serero, who is leaving for Dutch giants Ajax Amsterdam, also won the Kick-Off Footballer of the Season award.
Meanwhile, there was drama at the Ajax Cape Town end-of-season awards last night, as a group of supporters protested outside the Cape Town Stadium entrance.
The fans came out in support of John Comitis as honourary life chairman, holding banners reading ‘Hands off our chairman John Comitis’ and ‘Efstathiou brothers gold diggers’.
The group was small but vocal, chanting: “We want John, we want John” as the guests arrived, and mobbed John Comitis’ car as he drove into the parking lot.
The management of Ajax Cape Town has been involved in boardroom controversy since Ajax Amsterdam outgoing CEO Rik van den Boog announced John Comitis as honourary life president at a Press conference on May 22.
The decision, which came from AFC Ajax NV, a 51 percent shareholder of Ajax Cape Town, also dictates that the position of chairman has been officially retired, meaning that the chief executive – George Comitis – gets full controlling power.
Ajax CT executive director Ari Efstathiou released a statement shortly afterwards, saying the announcement was a “complete surprise”.
“No decisions of this nature have been contemplated, let alone approved, by either the shareholders or the directors of Ajax Cape Town,” the statement reads.
“Mr van den Boog’s actions are unilateral, without authority and are in conflict with the agreements regulating the governance of Ajax Cape Town.
“Appointments of this nature have never been considered by Ajax Cape Town, including at a meeting of directors held as recently as Friday 20 May 2011. Mr Efstathiou stated that, if necessary, urgent steps will be taken to correct this regrettable situation.”
Efstathiou, who is the chairman of the board of directors of Cape Town Stars, the 49 percent shareholder of Ajax Cape Town, also indicatied that legal proceedings, “relating to the removal of Mr John Comitis as a director of Ajax Cape Town”, have been initiated by Cape Town Stars.
The awards themselves, once they were underway, were less dramatic, with Amsterdam-bound Serero picking up the Player of the Year.
The 2010/11 Ajax Cape Town Award winners
Golden Boot: Thembinkosi ‘Terror’ Fanteni (R30 000)
Rookie of the Year: Khama Billiat (R30 000)
Sportsman of the Year: Granwald Scott (R30 000)
Player of Year: Thulani Serero (R70 000)
Urban Warrior: Craig Von Wielligh
Long Service Awards
Alton Mnduzulwana,
Coenrad Fourie
Shirley van Wyk
Honorary Awards
Foppe de Haan
Hans Vonk
Maarten Stekelenburg – KickOff/Sports Reporter.