Tammy Abraham, Thomas Frank and Vivianne Miedema triumph at the London Football Awards
- Les Ferdinand honoured with the Outstanding Contribution Award
- Heung-Min Son wins public vote for Goal of the Season
Tammy Abraham, Thomas Frank, Ben Foster, amongst others, triumphed last night at this year’s London Football Awards - one of the most prestigious charity events in the footballing calendar, hosted by Dermot O’Leary at Camden’s celebrated Roundhouse. Beating team-mate Jorginho and last year’s winner, Heung-Min Son, Tammy Abraham was crowned the Premier League Player of the Year. Not only that, but Abraham scored twice with a second prize win of Young Player of the Year, defeating team-mate Mason Mount. Arsenal’s Vivianne Miedema takes home Women’s Player of the Year, for the second year running.
Manager of the Year was awarded to Brentford’s Thomas Frank, who beat Premier League heavyweights Frank Lampard and Roy Hodgson. Other winners to scoop trophies include Brentford’s Ollie Watkins (EFL Player of the Year) and Watford’s Ben Foster (Goalkeeper of the Year).
This year’s winner of the Outstanding Contribution to London Football award is Queens Park Rangers and Tottenham Hotspur legend Les Ferdinand. This prestigious award was previously presented to Glenn Hoddle, Ian Wright, Frank Lampard, John Terry and Arsene Wenger.
Goal of the Season - which celebrates the best goal scored so far - was awarded to Heung-Min Son. Revamped for this year, the award was made available for a public vote for the first time.
Now in its sixth year, the London Football Awards is run in aid of Willow, the national charity set up by Bob Wilson and his wife Megs, to support seriously ill 16-40-year-olds to fulfil uplifting and unforgettable Special Days. The event celebrates the very best of London’s football and honours all aspects of the game, from Manager of the Year and Young Player of the Year, through to Women’s Player of the Year, and many more.
Winners of the awards, plus all nominees are:
Premier League Player of the Year WINNER: Tammy Abraham – Chelsea FC Nominees: Gary Cahill – Crystal Palace FC Heung-Min Son – Tottenham Hotspur FC Jorginho – Chelsea FC Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – Arsenal FC |
Manager of the Year WINNER: Thomas Frank – Brentford FC Nominees: Emma Hayes - Chelsea FC Women Frank Lampard – Chelsea FC Joe Montemurro – Arsenal Women FC Roy Hodgson – Crystal Palace FC |
EFL Player of the Year WINNER: Ollie Watkins – Brentford FC Nominees: Aleksandar Mitrović – Fulham FC Bryan Mbeumo - Brentford FC Jed Wallace – Millwall FC Saïd Benrahma – Brentford FC |
Goalkeeper of the Year WINNER: Ben Foster – Watford FC Nominees: Bernd Leno – Arsenal FC David Raya – Brentford FC Łukasz Fabiański – West Ham United FC Vicente Guaita – Crystal Palace FC |
Women’s Player of the Year WINNER: Vivianne Miedema – Arsenal Women FC Nominees: Beth England – Chelsea FC Women Beth Mead – Arsenal Women FC Erin Cuthbert – Chelsea FC Women Magdalena Erikson – Chelsea FC Women |
Young Player of Year (under-21) WINNER: Tammy Abraham – Chelsea FC Nominees: Bryan Mbeumo – Brentford FC Fikayo Tomori – Chelsea FC Gabriel Martinelli – Arsenal FC Mason Mount – Chelsea FC |
Goal of the Season WINNER: Heung-Min Son – Tottenham Vs. Burnley (7th December 2019) Nominees: Jordan Ayew – Crystal Palace Vs. West Ham United (26th December 2019) N’Golo Kanté – Chelsea Vs. Liverpool (22nd September 2019) Sébastien Haller – West Ham United Vs. Bournemouth (1st January 2020) Sophie Ingle – Arsenal Women FC Vs. Chelsea FC Women (19th January 2020) |
Community Project of the Year WINNER: Palace for Life Foundation – Divert Programme Nominees: AFC Wimbledon Foundation – Active Womble Phippsbridge Summer Scheme West Ham United Foundation – Any Old Irons |
The FA ‘For All’ Award WINNER: Middlesex FA – Really Real Nominees: Amateur FA – London Unity League Surrey FA – Inclusive Level 1 Coaching Courses |
Winners of the The FA ‘For All’ Award (recognising grassroots projects or clubs linked to County FAs) and the Community Project of the Year award (spotlighting the great local work of clubs), were Middlesex FA/Really Real and Palace for Life Foundation/Divert Programme, respectively. Both exemplify how important the awards view diversity and champion all aspects of the game, nothing more so than inclusion and engagement with underrepresented groups participating in football.
Nominees, winners and football legends who attended this year’s ceremony include Tammy Abraham, Ben Foster, Thomas Frank, David Seaman, Ashley Cole, David Ginola, and many more. They were joined on the evening with special performances by multi-platinum artist, Professor Green, and double Grammy award winners, Soul II Soul.
Bob Wilson, Willow Co-Founder and Life President, commented: “Our debut in our new home, Camden’s celebrated Roundhouse, proved to be something special and memorable. The London Football Awards is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the very best of London football. Even though it’s been a challenging season so far for the capital’s clubs, it was great to honour the achievements of both the winners and nominees. This ceremony is a vital event to support the work of Willow in raising important funds to provide Special Days for seriously ill young adults.”
Winners of the awards - apart from Goal of the Season - have been selected by an expert judging panel from the worlds of football and media, from former players to major footballing bodies, and sports media, including Sky Sports, BBC, The Daily Telegraph, London Evening Standard and talkSPORT.
For more information, please visit: https://londonfootballawards.org
Both images: Copyright Dave Nelson.