Shaw wins writers’ Footballer of the Year award

LONDON, England (CMC):

Jamaica striker Khadijah ‘Bunny’ Shaw was named yesterday the Football Writers’ Association (FWA) Women’s Footballer of the Year for the 2023-24 season in England.

Shaw, 27, is the top scorer in the Women’s Super League this season with 21 goals in 18 matches, and she has helped Man City to a six-point lead over last year’s champions, Chelsea, at the top of the league table.

“I am very proud and privileged to have received this award and to be recognised in this way is a special honour,” she said on FWA website.

“I want to also thank all my teammates. They provide me with the chances to score goals, and I could not have won this award without them.”

She added: “I also owe such a lot to Gareth (Taylor, head coach), the rest of the coaching team and everyone else at City. It’s a pleasure to be part of such a special group.

“Many thanks to all who voted for me and to my fellow nominees. It means such a lot to have won this award. Hopefully, the side can now finish off the season in style and give everyone special cause to celebrate.”

It will be a bittersweet moment for Shaw because she has been ruled out of the remainder of the season with a foot injury that required surgery last week.

She prevailed over Lauren James of Chelsea to win the writers’ award with 53 per cent of the voting, with her Man City teammates Alex Greenwood and Yui Hasegawa coming third and fourth respectively.

Shaw is only the second Man City player to win the award since its creation six years ago, following Nikita Parris in 2019.

Phil Foden, Shaw’s Man City colleague, won the men’s award, making it the second time in five years that the club has achieved the double, with Raheem Sterling clinching the men’s prize alongside Parris five years ago.

Foden, 23, has scored 16 goals in the Premier League for the defending champions, two goals in the English FA Cup, and five goals in the UEFA Champions League, and he has contributed 10 assists across all competitions for Man City.

He finished ahead of Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice and Man City teammate Rodri second and third respectively.