FWA Footballer of the Year

The Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year (often called the FWA Footballer of the Year, or in England simply the Footballer of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in English football. The award has been presented since the 1947–48 season, with the inaugural winner being Blackpool winger Stanley Matthews. The latest winner of the award as of 2025–26 is Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United. Nine players have won the award on more than one occasion, with Thierry Henry and Mohamed Salah having won the award on the most occasions, with three wins each.

The winner is selected by a vote amongst the members of the Football Writers' Association (FWA), which comprises around 400 football journalists based throughout England. The award was instigated at the suggestion of Charles Buchan, a former professional footballer turned journalist and one of the Association's founders.

Winners The award has been presented on 78 occasions as of 2026, to 69 players. On one occasion two players shared the award for a season. The table also indicates where the winning player also won one or more of the other major "player of the year" awards in English football, namely: the Professional Footballers' Association's Players' Player of the Year award (PPY), the Fans' Player of the Year award (FPY), the Young Player of the Year award (YPY), the Premier League Player of the Season award (PPS), the Premier League Young Player of the Season award (PYPS), and the Football Supporters' Association Player of the Year (FSA).

+Winners of the FWA Footballer of the YearYearPlayerClubAlso wonNotes 1947–48 Stanley Matthews Blackpool 1948–49 Manchester United First winner of the award from outside the United Kingdom. 1949–50 Arsenal 1950–51 Blackpool 1951–52 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1952–53 Bolton Wanderers 1953–54 Preston North End 1954–55 Manchester City 1955–56 Manchester City First Goalkeeper and first player from outside the British Isles to win the award. 1956–57 (2) Preston North End First player to win the award twice. 1957–58 Tottenham Hotspur 1958–59 Luton Town 1959–60 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1960–61 (2) Tottenham Hotspur 1961–62 Burnley 1962–63 (2) Stoke City First player to win the award with two clubs. 1963–64 West Ham United 1964–65 Leeds United 1965–66 Manchester United 1966–67 Leeds United 1967–68 Manchester United 1968–69 Manchester CityDerby County 1969–70 Leeds United 1970–71 Arsenal 1971–72 Stoke City 1972–73 Tottenham Hotspur Also won the PFA Players' Player of the Year award in 1976 to become the first player to win both awards. 1973–74 Liverpool 1974–75 Fulham 1975–76 Liverpool 1976–77 Liverpool 1977–78 Nottingham Forest 1978–79 Liverpool 1979–80 Liverpool PPYFirst player to win both PFA and FWA awards in the same season. 1980–81 Ipswich Town 1981–82 Tottenham Hotspur 1982–83 (2) Liverpool PPY 1983–84 Liverpool PPY 1984–85 Everton 1985–86 Everton PPY 1986–87 Tottenham Hotspur PPY 1987–88 Liverpool PPY 1988–89 Liverpool 1989–90 (2) Liverpool 1990–91 Leeds United 1991–92 (2) Tottenham Hotspur 1992–93 Sheffield Wednesday 1993–94 Blackburn Rovers 1994–95 Tottenham Hotspur 1995–96 Manchester United 1996–97 Chelsea 1997–98 Arsenal PPY 1998–99 Tottenham Hotspur PPY 1999–2000 Manchester United PPY 2000–01 Manchester United PPY 2001–02 Arsenal 2002–03 Arsenal PPY, FPY 2003–04 (2) Arsenal PPY, FPY, PPSFirst player to win the award in two consecutive seasons. 2004–05 Chelsea FPY, PPS 2005–06 (3) Arsenal PPS First player to win the award three times. 2006–07 Manchester United PPY, FPY, YPY, PPSFirst player to win five awards in the same season. 2007–08 (2) Manchester United PPY, FPY, PPS 2008–09 Liverpool FPY 2009–10 Manchester United PPY, FPY, PPS 2010–11 West Ham United 2011–12 Arsenal PPY, FPY 2012–13 Tottenham Hotspur PPY, YPY, PPS 2013–14 { Liverpool PPY, FPY, PPS, FSA 2014–15 Chelsea PPY, PPS 2015–16 Leicester City PPS 2016–17 Chelsea PPY, PPS 2017–18 Liverpool PPY, FPY, PPS, FSA 2018–19 Manchester City YPY 2019–20 Liverpool 2020–21 Manchester City PPS 2021–22 (2) Liverpool PPY, FPY 2022–23 Manchester City PPY, PPS, PYPS 2023–24 Manchester City PPY, PPS 2024–25 (3)Liverpool PPY, PPS 2025–26Manchester UnitedPPY, PPS

Breakdown of winners

By country

+Winners of the FWA Footballer of the Year by countryCountryNumber of winsWinning years England 1947–48, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1968–69‡, 1971–72, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 2000–01, 2004–05, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2015–16, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2023-24 Scotland 1964–65, 1968–69‡, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1982–83, 1988–89, 1990–91 France 1995–96, 1998–99, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2016–17 Northern Ireland 1957–58, 1960–61, 1967–68, 1972–73 Portugal2006–07, 2007–08, 2020–21, 2025–26 Netherlands 1980–81, 1997–98, 2011–12 Wales 1983–84, 1984–85, 2012–13 Egypt 2017–18, 2021–22, 2024–25 Republic of Ireland 1948–49, 1999–2000 West Germany / Germany 1955–56, 1994–95 Italy 1996–97 Uruguay 2013–14 Belgium 2014–15 Norway 2022–23

‡ — two winners

Winners by club +Winners of the FWA Footballer of the Year by clubClubNumber of winsWinning years Liverpool 1973–74, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 2008–09, 2013–14, 2017–18, 2019–20, 2021–22, 2024–25Manchester United1948–49, 1965–66, 1967–68, 1995–96, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2025–26 Tottenham Hotspur 1957–58, 1960–61, 1972–73, 1981–82, 1986–87, 1991–92, 1994–95, 1998–99, 2012–13 Arsenal 1949–50, 1970–71, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2011–12 Manchester City 1954–55, 1955–56, 1968–69‡, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2022–23, 2023-24 Leeds United 1964–65, 1966–67, 1969–70, 1990–91 Chelsea 1996–97, 2004–05, 2014–15, 2016–17 Everton 1984–85, 1985–86 Stoke City 1962–63, 1971–72 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1951–52, 1959–60 Preston North End 1953–54, 1956–57 Blackpool 1947–48, 1950–51 West Ham United 1963–64, 2010–11 Leicester City 2015–16 Blackburn Rovers 1993–94 Sheffield Wednesday 1992–93 Ipswich Town 1980–81 Nottingham Forest 1977–78 Fulham 1974–75 Derby County 1968–69‡ Burnley 1961–62 Luton Town 1958–59 Bolton Wanderers 1952–53

See also Premier League Player of the Season PFA Players' Player of the Year SPFA Players' Player of the Year SFWA Footballer of the Year PFAI Players' Player of the Year

References

External links Football Writers' Association