The 11th annual ceremony, staged at the Park Plaza Hotel in London, featured awards in 16 different categories, including Tesco Manager of the Year awarded to Sunderland’s Mick Mulhern who lead his team to their first ever FA Women’s Cup Final, and new for 2009, The FA Tesco Community Award, which was won by Sport England National Sports Foundation.
A full list of all 16 award winners is as follows:
Umbro Top Goal Scorer (National Division) – Kelly Smith (Arsenal)
Umbro Top Goal Scorer (Southern Division) – Sam Pittuck (West Ham)
Umbro Top Goal Scorer (Northern Division) – Jodie Michalska (Lincoln)
The FA Young Player of the Year – Toni Duggan (Everton)
The FA Club Media Award – Leeds Carnegie LFC
The FA Club Marketing Award – Nottingham Forest LFC
Tesco Manager of the Year – Mick Mulhern (Sunderland)
Tesco Club of the Year – Arsenal LFC
The FA Best Programme Award – Keynsham Town LFC
The FA Fair Play Award – Rotherham LFC
The FA National Media Award – The Guardian
The FA Regional Media Award – BBC Radio Leeds
Nationwide International Player of the Year – Fara Williams (Everton)
Tesco Players’ Player of the Year – Fara Williams (Everton)
The FA Special Achievement Award – Vic Akers (Arsenal)
The FA Tesco Community Award – Sport England National Sports Foundation
The awards were hosted by ITV football pundit Robbie Earle, and were attended by 300 of the biggest names in Women's football, including representatives from the England Women’s senior squad ahead of their busy summer of International Football. Also present was FA Chairman Lord Triesman and Director of Football Development Sir Trevor Brooking.
Morag Taylor, Marketing Manager for Women’s Football at The Football Association, commented: “This year has been full of good performances and amazing achievements across the women’s game and it’s once again a great pleasure to be able to bring everyone together to celebrate.
"We’ve been thrilled to see the growing numbers of young girls and women across the country who have been getting involved in all levels of the game this season, and with Hope Powell’s team qualifying for the European Championships in Finland later this summer, we’re hopeful that we’ll have much more to celebrate this year.”
Women's Football is the biggest female team sport in the country, with over 1.35 million females playing recreational football, of which more than 150,000 are playing in affiliated school and club teams.
To ensure the game continues to grow, The Football Assocation and Tesco, the official women’s and girls’ football partner, are embarking on a joint drive to encourage girls to take up football this summer. Girls’ Football Week will be held between Monday 22 to Sunday 28 June, encouraging girls to attend regional taster sessions and join their local clubs. For more information please visit TheFA.com/womens

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