FSF Awards 2017 shortlists announced

The Football Supporters’ Federation is pleased to announce the shortlists for the 2017 FSF Awards in partnership with Virgin Media – voting is open now, and fans can back their favourites at www.fsf.org.uk/vote. Ninety shortlisted candidates will battle it out across 15 categories, recognising everything from the best players of 2017 to fans’ favourite away days.

• Vote now – cast your votes for your favourites. 

In the Men’s Player of the Year category, it’s a London versus Manchester battle, with Antonio Conte’s title-winning Chelsea side and Mauricio Pochettino’s high flying Tottenham having two nominations apiece – Cesar Azpilicueta and N’Golo Kanté for the Blues, and Harry Kane and Hugo Lloris for Spurs. They’ll be doing battle with Man United’s Romelu Lukaku and Man City’s Kevin de Bruyne for the top prize.

This is the second year that the FSF are celebrating the Women’s Player of the Year, with the summer’s European Championships firmly in mind. Man City’s Jill Scott and Arsenal’s Jordon Nobbs have been shortlisted for the second year in a row, alongside the WSL Spring Series’ top scorer Fran Kirby of Chelsea, Reading’s Jade Moore, Caroline Weir from Liverpool and Ellen White of Birmingham City.

Our thanks go to leading women’s football magazine Shekicks and football writers Tony Leighton, Glenn Moore and Kieran Theviam for helping us devise the shortlist.

Our Fans for Diversity work alongside anti-discrimination organisation Kick It Out has its own award for the second year running, too, promoting the good work of fan groups up and down the country in making football more inclusive and welcoming to all communities.

Sky Sports colleagues Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville, both previous FSF award winners, will once-again go head-to-head in the Pundit of the Year category. The two former defenders are up against a formidable front line of Alan Shearer, Gary Lineker and Ian Wright, with Jermaine Jenas rounding out the shortlist.

We’ll also be recognising the work Supporter Liaison Officers (SLOs) do for fans across the country which often goes unnoticed. The SLO of the Year award highlights the best practice in supporter liaison in the Premier League and English Football League.

The other categories that fans will be able to have their say on include the best commentators, podcasts, bloggers and football writers. In all, 10 categories are open to a public vote, while five categories (Away Day, Club Podcast, Fans for Diversity, Fanzine and Supporter Liaison Officer of the Year) will be decided by an FSF panel.

Kevin Miles, chief executive of the Football Supporters’ Federation, said: “Fans form a vital part of the professional game, and our awards give those fans the chance to have their say on the very best in all facets of the sport.

“We’re delighted that once again Virgin Media are showing their support for fans. Having made Twenty’s Plenty a reality for all visiting supporters at Southampton’s St Mary’s stadium for the past two seasons, they’ve once again supported fans in backing our awards.”

Kerris Bright, Chief Marketing Officer at Virgin Media said:

“At Virgin Media, we believe that fans should be at the heart of football.

“Our partnership with the FSF is one of the most important ways for us to make that approach a reality.

“Uniquely, these awards give the fans a voice in celebrating success on and off the pitch and we are proud to be associated with that voice. We look forward to a great event, and wish all the nominees the best of luck.”

• Voting is open now. 

Voting is open from Tuesday 31^st October until Monday 20^th November, with the awards being presented at the Tower of London on the evening of Monday 4^th December. Shortlisted nominees are entitled to 2 tickets to attend the awards dinner, and should get in touch with us at [email protected] for more details. 

The full list of categories and nominees is below.

Men’s Player of the Year

Cesar Azpilicueta, Kevin de Bruyne, Harry Kane, N’Golo Kanté, Hugo Lloris, Romelu Lukaku.

Women’s Player of the Year

Fran Kirby (Chelsea), Jade Moore (Reading), Jordan Nobbs (Arsenal), Jill Scott (Man City), Caroline Weir (Liverpool), Ellen White (Birmingham City)

Away Day of the Year

Burton Albion, Cardiff City, Chesterfield, Fulham, Southampton, Swansea City

Blogger of the Year

All Blue Daze (allbluedaze.com), David Bauckham (dbauckham.exposure.co), Kieron O’Connor (swissramble.blogspot.com), Shirsho Dasgupta (inbedwithmaradona.com & others) HeadHammerShark (thehlist.blogspot.com), Steven Scragg (thesefootballtimes.co)

Club Podcast of the Year

Amber Nectar (Hull City), The Anfield Wrap (Liverpool), Arsecast (Arsenal), Bluemoon (Man City), From the Rookery End (Watford), Fulhamish (Fulham)

Commentator of the Year

Peter Drury, Bill Leslie, Conor McNamara, Guy Mowbray, John Murray, Martin Tyler

Fans for Diversity Award

Blues 4 All, Fans Supporting Foodbanks (Merseyside), Lady Imps, Proud and Palace, Proud Lilywhites, Punjabi Wolves Supporters

Fanzine of the Year

Bandy and Shinty (Nottingham Forest), The Blue and White (Chester), The Gooner (Arsenal), Popular Stand (Doncaster Rovers), The Square Ball (Leeds United), United We Stand (Manchester United).

Newspaper of the Year

The Daily Mail, The Daily Mirror, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Non-League Paper, The Times

Online Media of the Year

Copa 90, Football365.com, OptaJoe, Spencer FC, David Squires, uMAXit Football

Podcast of the Year

The Indy Football Podcast, Guardian Football Weekly, Not the Top 20, Quickly Kevin, Will He Score?, Second Captains, The Totally Football Show

Pundit of the Year

Jamie Carragher, Jermaine Jenas, Gary Lineker, Gary Neville, Alan Shearer, Ian Wright

Radio Show of the Year

606 (BBC 5Live), The European Football Show (talkSPORT 2), Hawksbee and Jacobs (talkSPORT), The Monday Night Club (BBC 5Live), Rock and Roll Football (Absolute Radio), Sports Report (BBC 5Live)

Supporter Liaison Officer of the Year

Jim Donnelly (Leicester City), Yvonne Ferguson (Middlesbrough), Kristine Green (Grimsby Town), Micky Simpson (Millwall), Jason Taylor and Ian Wadsworth (Wigan Athletic), Hannah Woodburn (Preston North End)

Writer of the Year

George Caulkin (The Times), Matt Lawton (Daily Mail), Jonathan Liew (Telegraph/Independent), Alyson Rudd (The Times), Rory Smith (New York Times), Jonathan Wilson (Various)