Declan Rice receives the 18/19 Men’s Young Player of the Year Award. The West Ham midfielder is one of five players shortlisted for the Premier League Player of the Year award this year. Credit: Action Images
The London Football Awards sponsored by Toscafund, has today officially announced the nominees for the 2022 awards ceremony, with Chelsea, Fulham and West Ham leading the nominations after fine seasons for all three sides.
The Hammers’ pair Jarrod Bowen and Declan Rice have both been nominated for the Premier League Player of the Year alongside the Chelsea trio of Jorginho, Antonio Rudiger and Thiago Silva.
Managers of both sides were also nominated for the Manager of the Year award with David Moyes and Thomas Tuchel joined on the shortlist by Crystal Palace’s Patrick Vieira, who has impressed in his first year at Selhurst Park, Fulham boss Marco Silva and Sutton United manager Matt Gray, who is nominated after seeing his newly-promoted side thrive at League Two level with the club currently sat in fourth as they seek back-to-back promotions.
The exploits of Silva’s Fulham – who sit five points clear at the top of the Sky Bet Championship – have not gone unnoticed elsewhere in the awards, with Harry Wilson, Neeskens Kebano and the division’s top goalscorer Aleksandar Mitrovic all shortlisted for the EFL Player of the Year alongside Queens Park Rangers duo Ilias Chair and Chris Willock.
Young Cottagers starlet Fabio Carvalho is the sole EFL representative in the Men’s Young Player of the Year voting, with Palace duo Conor Gallagher, on loan from Chelsea, and Tyrick Mitchell vying for the honour alongside Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and Tottenham Hotspur midfield star Oliver Skipp.
The Goalkeeper of the Year award will see a Sky Bet League 2 shot stopper take on four Premier League goalkeepers, as Dean Bouzanis (Sutton United), Łukasz Fabiański (West Ham United), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham), Édouard Mendy (Chelsea) and Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal) will be contesting the award.
After a stunning season which sees them currently in the Champions League quarter-finals and sitting atop the FA Women’s Super League table, it is no surprise that Arsenal stars dominate the nominations for the WSL Player of the Year with the trio of Kim Little, Katie McCabe and Leah Williamson all shortlisted, alongside Australian superstars Sam Kerr (Chelsea) and Mackenzie Arnold (West Ham).
The Hammers are also represented in the Women’s Young Player of the Year stakes by Mel Filis, with Tottenham duo Esther Morgan and Jessica Naz rounding off the competition for the award.
The Community Project of the Year award shines the spotlight on some of the fantastic work the clubs are doing, supporting their local communities and tackling some of the capital’s biggest issues both on and off the pitch.
Nominees for this year’s award include the QPR in the Community Trust for Long Live The Prince, their stunning tribute to mark the 15th anniversary of the tragic death of former youth player Kiyan Prince. The talented 15-year-old was stabbed whilst attempting to break up a fight back in 2006. To commemorate the anniversary of his passing, QPR in the Community partnered with EA SPORTS to integrate Kiyan to the QPR playing squad in the popular FIFA 21 video game – using AI technology to recreate Kiyan as the 30-year-old professional footballer he should have become.
Also nominated are the Arsenal Foundation for their Arsenal Supporting Supporters initiative, which saw players visiting local businesses synonymous with the club to raise awareness of their services and increase footfall on matchdays.
The Chelsea Foundation are also shortlisted for their No To Hate campaign which saw the club take the lead on online abuse after Reece James was racially abused on social media. The initiative, directed by owner Roman Abramovich, saw Chelsea take a stand against all forms of discrimination and implement policies to tackle such abuse, as well as celebrating the club’s black players, enhancing opportunities for black, Asian and female coaches and accelerate opportunities for journalists from under-represented groups.
The London Football Awards, now in its 8th year, celebrates the achievements of players, clubs and initiatives taking place in London from across the year.
The nominees, and eventual winners, have been selected by a panel of judges made up of ex-players, broadcasters and professionals from across the footballing pyramid. The 26-person judging panel for 2022 includes the likes of former players Bobby Zamora and Tony Cottee; esteemed broadcasters Jacqui Oatley and Dickie Davis and Bob Wilson OBE, ex-Arsenal legend and founder of the Willow Foundation. For a full list of the judging panel, click here.
Commenting on the nominees, Wilson said: “It is great to see such a wide spread of our London teams represented in these nominations and great to see some new faces who we have not seen shortlisted before.
“It is always tough trying to filter through the immense talent pool that we have in London to whittle these lists down to manageable numbers, but there can be no surprise that the judging panel has recognised the incredible displays of Fulham, West Ham and Sutton United in particular this season. We look forward to welcoming the winners on the night for what will be a fantastic celebration of football in our capital.”
On top of the announced nominees, the winner of the prestigious Outstanding Contribution to London Football Award will be revealed in the coming weeks ahead of the ceremony on March 3rd, as well as the launch of a public vote to decide the Goal of the Season.
All proceeds from the awards go to Willow, the UK’s only national charity providing Special Days and Specials Treats for seriously ill young adults aged 16 to 40 years old when they are needed most. The charity was founded by Wilson and his wife Megs following the death of their daughter Anna from cancer aged 31.
The London Football Awards is sponsored by Toscafund and includes awards sponsored by: London Evening Standard (Community Project of the Year), BH2 (Manager of the Year), Jump (EFL Player of the Year), Multiplex (Goalkeeper of the Year), Weston Homes (Outstanding Contribution of the Year, FA WSL Player of the Year) and Gung Ho Communications (Men’s Young Player of the Year, Women’s Young Player of the Year).
The 2022 London Football Awards will be held at the Roundhouse on March 3. For more information, please visit: https://londonfootballawards.org/.
