Chickens, chainsaws and the weirdest Man of the Match trophies in football

FEATURE

Tom Weber | Writer

Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer.

Football has a long and proud history of handing out some absolutely bizarre Man of the Match trophies.

Back in the day, the best player on the pitch used to be rewarded with a bottle of champagne or some other small gift. Nowadays, most competitions, be they domestic or international, have their own bespoke Player of the Match trophies.

At the 2026 World Cup, the best performer in a fixture receives a mid-sized, sleek and shiny trophy - the Michelob ULTRA Superior Player of the Match award, to call it by its corporate name.

The Premier League hands out much more discreet, cylinder-shaped awards with a yellow and purple colourway, while Champions League stars are often pictured with a three-dimensional version of the ball from the competition's logo perched on a small pedestal.

But football is not so sanitised everywhere. Indeed, clubs often hand out their own Man of the Match awards, and these are generally much more unique and creative. So, let's run through some of the more wacky Player of the Match prizes.

Chainsaw

League of Ireland side Shelbourne FC hosted Scottish giants Celtic in a pre-season friendly on Tuesday. The Dublin club more than held their own and could have come away with the win had it not been for a late goal from the Hoops.

After the game, Shels star Sean Gannon received his Man of the Match award: a brand-new chainsaw from club sponsor Chadwicks.

Live hens

You would think a footballer receiving a live hen to commemorate an impressive performance would be a one-off as it's quite weird, right? Well, you would be wrong.

In 2018, Gornik Zabrze - the side Germany legend Lukas Podolski won the Polish cup with last season - went viral after handing out a fowl to one of their players in keeping with the club's tradition. Prejuce Nakoulma, a former Burkina Faso international, also previously received a chicken from the Polish club.

The following year, Hassan Kajoke received the same clucking surprise after starring for Nyasa Big Bullets (yes, that's the club's name) in Malawi.

Eggs

What came first, the chicken or the egg? Well, for Kennedy Musonda, it was definitely the egg, and not just one. In 2022, while playing for Power Dynamos in his native Zambia, the forward received five - yes, five! - crates of eggs.

A local news outlet reported: "Kennedy has thanked his teammates, management and coaches for what he has achieved and dedicated the eggs to a Power Dynamos supporter who lost his life during the match."

In 2025, goalkeeper Jan de Boer received a few trays of eggs from his Norwegian club Bryne. The same team also made headlines by offering defender Axel Kryger a live lamb as a celebration of the club's rural heritage.

Fish

Before starring for Arsenal in the Premier League, Martin Odegaard spent time on loan at Real Sociedad in the Basque Country as he looked to make his name on the European stage after failing to break through at Real Madrid.

San Sebastian - and the Basque Country in general - has a strong connection with the Atlantic Ocean, so when Odegaard got his stint at the club off to a flying start, he was gifted a giant fish by a local supermarket.

It was technically a Player of the Month award, but it still counts, right?

Other types of food

Carlisle United have a long-standing affiliation with The Viceroy, a popular Indian restaurant in the city. Naturally, this means that the Player of the Match receives a *checks notes* tray of curry.

Similarly, now-retired former Ireland international Conor Sammon famously received an Italian delicacy from Pizza Express after starring for Partick Thistle in Scotland.

In 2022, lower-league English side Lewes picked a bundle of spring onions from the club's community garden to celebrate Ayo Olukoga's outstanding performance.

If you don't like eating your greens, Crewe Alexandra is the club for you: defender Zac Williams once received Jaffa Cakes and a bag of crisps/chips.

Grill

What's the point of getting food when you don't have the means to cook it? Argentine side Lanus solved that problem in 2016 when they presented Lautaro Acosta with an entire grill (and matching apron) after a Supercopa clash.

Burger King crown

The Supercopa was sponsored by Burger King back then, but River Plate goalkeeper Franco Armani must have been quite underwhelmed with the gift he received for his Man of the Match outing.

Instead of receiving a brand-new grill, he only had a Burger King crown put on his head.

Beer

After grilling your food, you need something to wash it down with. South African company Castle Lager had the right idea when it sponsored the Premier Soccer League in Zimbabwe and handed out crates of beer to the division's top performers.

Mobile phone data

While playing for South African giants Mamelodi Sundowns, Hlompho Kekana was awarded one of the more practical prizes on this list: mobile phone data.

Sponsor Telkom presented the former midfielder with a gigantic SIM card with a whopping five gigabytes of data.

Credit card

Being a footballer in South Africa seems quite fun because, in addition to having your phone data paid for, you also used to be able to get 2000 South African Rand (a little over €100) worth of credit after putting in a good shift.

The South African Premiership is sponsored by Betway nowadays, but it was previously backed by banking company Absa, which used to hand out absolutely enormous credit cards to Man of the Match recipients.

Mountain bike

The 1990s were a different time. If you played well in the Scottish League Cup back then, you didn't receive a trophy, or a bottle of champagne or a bouquet of flowers.

No, you were given a Coca-Cola-branded mountain bike. Obviously.

Adidas sliders

Footballers always wear sliders, so what better way to celebrate a good performance than by picking up a fresh pair of Adidas' finest footwear? Ghana is clearly ahead of the curve because that's exactly what you could be gifted after starring for PL Dreams FC.

Crash Bandicoot

When Said Benrahma scored a brace for Brentford against Fulham in the Carabao Cup in 2020, he received the usual Man of the Match trophy that is handed out in the energy drink-sponsored competition.

For some reason, however, he was also given a PlayStation 4 copy of Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time. He looked absolutely delighted with it, so fair play to whoever came up with the idea.

Written by

Tom Weber | Writer

Tom Weber is an experienced, multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer as part of his freelance work for FootballTransfers.

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