FWA Footballer of the Year

FWA Footballer of the Year
Mohamed Salah won the award in 2025.
SportAssociation football
CompetitionAll levels of English football
CountryEngland and Wales
Presented byFWA
History
First award1947–48
Editions77
First winner Stanley Matthews
Most wins Mohamed Salah
Thierry Henry (3 awards each)
Most recent Mohamed Salah
Websitefootballwriters.co.uk/awards

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 2024–25 is Mohamed Salah of Liverpool. 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.