PFA Awards 2026 honor players, spark FIFA governance critique

The 2026 Professional Footballers Association Awards ceremony concluded Tuesday night at the Manchester Opera House, honoring standout performers across English football while also becoming a platform for player concerns about the sport's global governance. The annual event, the 53rd of its kind, presented 74 awards to players from the Premier League, Championship, League One, League Two, Women's Super League, and WSL 2.

The ceremony's final and most prestigious honor, the Men's PFA Players' Player of the Year, remained to be announced at the time of reporting. The shortlist for that award included Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes, Arsenal's David Raya, Declan Rice, and Gabriel Magalhães, and Manchester City's Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki. Fernandes, who set a Premier League single-season record with 21 assists last season, was considered a leading contender.

Several major awards were revealed during the evening. Manchester City's Nico O'Reilly won the Men's PFA Young Player of the Year, beating teammates and rivals from Arsenal and Manchester United. In the women's game, Arsenal's Olivia Smith secured the Women's PFA Young Player of the Year for a second consecutive year....