As we do every year, we got an exceptional return from our members and other fans (many of whom have since joined the SFSA), with thousands of votes reflecting, we believe, the continuing interest of Scottish fans in our national sport, the players, managers, grassroots and, believe it or not, the match officials (without whom we wouldn’t have a game). Without further ado, here are the results:
Men’s Player of the Year
There were hundreds of players nominated by fans up and down the country. As well as the winners, many well-known players from the biggest clubs received lots of votes, but clubs at all levels were represented with even one Junior side having players nominated (midfielder Ethan Samson of Tayport FC). The winner had only 1% more votes than the runner up and, for the second year in a row, he is:
Winner: Scott McTominay
Runner-up: Calum McGregor
Third: John McGinn
Fourth: Lennon Miller
Fifth: Ben Doak
Women’s Player of the Year
Perhaps unsurprisingly, there were fewer women nominated than men, but 87 names were put forward and the winners are:
Winner: Erin Cuthbert (FIFTH year in a row!)
Runner-up: Amy Gallagher
Third: Caroline Weir
Fourth= Martha Thomas and Nicola Docherty
Manager of the Year
We don’t think this will be a surprise – and we’re delighted to see that the winner is from outwith the Premiership (he may well be a contender next year!).
Winner: John McGlynn
Runner-up: Brendan Rodgers
Third: Jim Goodwin
Fourth: Steve Clarke
Fifth: Tony Docherty
Grassroots Hero of the Year
Some 89 names were put forward, but all but a handful received only one vote. Consequently, we’re only listing the winner, who is….
Winner: Lee Robertson of Rothes Juniors 2012
He is our head coach for the team. Even though he is head coach for our team, he helps out at every age group within our club. He never says no. He even took himself over to Malawi last May to carry out a football camp at a small village not only within the village, he also attended both infant and high school. All our used football strips he took over with them and kitted out the school over there. Football boots strips so they all looked the part. He is definitely our grassroots hero of the year
Referee of the Year
The SFSA has consistently championed the cause of our match officials, encouraging our members to take up a whistle to address the shortage of referees in some parts of Scotland. While we obviously received quite a few responses along the lines of “none of them,” and a few players and managers were also nominated, most of our top officials received votes, with the winners as follows:
Winner: John Beaton
Runner-up: Nick Walsh
Third = Kevin Clancy and Willie Collum
Fifth: Don Robertson
Fan of the Year
We had literally hundreds of nominations, many of which were the only ones for the person concerned, but, as the quotes below show, there is no doubt that Scotland and our clubs have some quite extraordinarily dedicated fans. Moreover, many of these people go out of their way, not just to support their club or the national team, but also to raise funds for charity or do unpaid work behind the scenes at their clubs. Due to the huge number of single nominations, we’re only listing the top three.
Winner: Stewart Falconer, St Johnstone
Runner-up Craig Ferguson, Scotland fan
Third David Lamming, Dunfermline Athletic
Stewart Falconer was nominated by Colin MacKay, who organises St Johnstone’s Food Bank. This is what Colin wrote:
“We’d like to nominate St Johnstone Fan Stewart Falconer. A lifelong, passionate, St Johnstone fan and long-term Season Ticket Holder, his love for his Club is only surpassed by his love for his family, who are also Saints Supporters. In April 2023, a totally blind Hibs fan, Carl Macar, travelled alone to Perth, by train, from his home in Sunderland. He needed assistance and to be met at the Railway Station to get to the game, and asked for help on social media. Despite never having met him before, Saints fan Stewart Falconer arranged to meet Carl, bring him to the game, assist him in getting to his seat in a different stand, then met him once again after the game and accompanied him back to the Railway Station. Carl later took to social media to praise Stewart and thank him for his help. Stewart has met Carl again, providing transport and assistance when Hibs play in Perth. Despite an advanced terminal cancer diagnosis, Stewart continues to get to every Saints game he can and even a day after painful and debilitating medical treatment Stewart will still make it to the game, and, without fail, carries with him a heavy carrier bag or two full of groceries to donate to Saint Fans Supporting Foodbanks Collections. At a time when football fans often get bad press (sometimes justified) Stewart is a shining example of what every football fan should strive to be. The motto of Fans Supporting Foodbanks is “Hunger Doesn’t Wear Club Colours” In Stewart’s case, he has proved that neither does empathy and kindness. Stewart, and the example he sets, is not only a Credit to his beloved St Johnstone, but to Scottish Football as a whole.”
Paisley’s Craig Ferguson is well-known, and deservedly so, for his phenomenal efforts in walking from Scotland to Germany for the Euros, raising tens of thousands of pounds for men’s mental health charity ‘Brothers in Arms.’
David Lamming has just retired, aged 80, from his position in the club shop at Dunfermline Athletic. He worked as a volunteer at the shop for over 21 years and, as he said, has watched kids grow into adults as the continue their support for the Pars.
Amongst the many others, there were some memorable quotes, including the following:
“Grace Cuthbert because she’s Boswell through and through.”
“John Glencross – John has followed Alloa Athletic since he was a boy. He has put together the Alloa Athletic Museum & runs a group on Mondays called Alloa Memories for older people to come together and discuss our club.”
“Jon Attenborough – for his magnificent achievement in visiting every Scottish football ground and for his work in raising awareness in access for blind and disabled people to football.”
“Graeme Duthie (Graeme78 or hearts_enthusiast) on TikTok. The work Graeme has made about Hearts this year has been phenomenal and he’s been so consistent. Also appearing on the Locker Room show, he’s made a lot of really good videos.
“Donnie McPhee – just died, but 72 years a season ticket holder at St Johnstone.”
“Aaron Jones, Aberdeen. Travels to every game home and away with his mother.”
“Celtic Women’s Supporters Club. They attend every game home and away and support the women’s game in a very positive way.”
“Daniel O’Neill … has brought fun & enthusiasm to the women’s game via creating a noisy but fun atmosphere to the game that is inclusive.”
“Judy Hamilton. Never misses a match and does so much to get young people involved and going to the matches.”
SFSA Chairman’s Award
Gavin Newlands and Gillian Mackay are two politicians who really do get what the SFSA is trying to do and have been central to our campaign to get Scotland’s international matches free to air on television. They have been enthusiastic and consistent supporters of the SFSA and consequently Andy Smith, the SFSA chair, is delighted to make a joint award to them for all their work in 2024.
The Scottish Football Supporters Association, supported by Caithness Glass. have run the SFSA Fans Awards since 2016, where fans have their say on who stands out in the Scottish game, Thank you, once again, to them for their assistance with this prestigious competition.
Past Winners
Player of the Year – Men
- 2022 John McGinn
- 2021 John McGinn
- 2019 John McGinn
- 2018 Andy Robertson
- 2017 Kieran Tierney
- 2016 Leigh Griffiths
Player for the Year – Women
- 2022 Erin Cuthbert
- 2021 Kim Little
- 2019 Erin Cuthbert
- 2018 Erin Cuthbert
Manager of the Year
- 2022 Ange Postecoglou
- 2021 Steve Clarke
- 2019 Neil Lennon
- 2018 Steve Clarke
Fan of the Year
- 2022 Sandy Fyfe (Jags Foundation)
- 2021 Poppy Lord (Scotland NT)
- 2020 Paul McNicoll (Dundee United)
- 2019 Colin Weir (Patrick Thistle)
- 2018 Marvyn Stewart (Dunfermline Athletic)
- 2017 Tom Feeley (Motherwell)
- 2016 Margret Ross (Dunfermline Athletic)
Travelling Support of the Year
- 2021 Tartan Army
- 2019 Motherwell
- 2018 Hibernian
- 2017 Aberdeen
- 2016 Aberdeen
Family Friendly Club of the Year
- 2021 Motherwell
- 2019 Livingston
- 2018 St. Johnstone
- 2017 St. Mirren
- 2016 Ross County
Pundit of the Year
- 2021 Ally McCoist
- 2019 Chris Sutton
- 2018 Michael Stewart
- 2017 Michael Stewart
- 2016 Chris Sutton
Writer or Blogger of the Year
- 2021 Old Firm Facts
- 2019 Old Firm Facts
- 2018 Old Firm Facts
- 2017 Tom English
- 2016 Tom English
Goal of the Year
- 2021 John McGinn (Scotland v Austria)
- 2019 Stevie Mallan (Hibernian v Heart of Midlothian)
Lifetime Achievement Award
- 2022 Rose Reilly
- 2021 Craig Brown
- 2019 Sir Kenny Dalglish
- 2018 Denis Law
- 2017 Sir Alex Ferguson
Special Achievement Award
- 2022 Fans Supporting Foodbanks & Hibs Dnipro Kids Charity
- 2021 Tartan Army Sunshine Appeal
- 2019 On the Ball
- 2018 Shelly Kerr
Community Orientated Club of the Year
- 2021 Stenhousemuir
Worldwide Scot Award
- 2022 Caroline Weir