First Asian Football Awards held

The first ever Asian Football Awards supported by The FA and Kick It Out, with Sporting Equals as its legacy partner saw leading figures come out to support the glitzy event at the home of football, Wembley Stadium.

Guests for this event included David Bernstein (FA Chairman), Paul Elliot, Graham Le Saux, Piara Powar, Mihir Bose, Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham) and award winners Michael Chopra and Manish Bhasin.

The AFA managed to engage with key representatives of those individuals working hard to engage with their communities and develop Asians within the game. The event brought together representatives of clubs and organisations such as Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspurs, Aston Villa, QPR, Wolves, Charlton, Liverpool, The PFA and many leading Asian organisations.

Imran Hassan Co-Founder Asian Football Awards said: “It was really pleasing seeing so many key figures supporting and enjoying the awards, but the hard work begins now in our legacy programme.”

The winners of the inaugural Asian Football Awards:

The Player of the Year Award (Sponsored by Lebara Mobile) - Michael Chopra (Ipswich Town)

The Young Player of the Year (Sponsored by Inventive Sports) – Danny Batth (Wolves/Sheff Wed)

Lifetime Achievement Award – Jarnail Singh (referee)

Football Media Award (Sponsored by Sony Entertainment Network) – Manish Bhasin (BBC)

Investors in Football – Tony Fernandes and Lakshmi Mittal (QPR)

Coach of the Year (Sponsored by Action Images) – Nas Bashir (Hayes and Yeading)

Asian Woman in Football – Rimla Akhtar

Foundation of the Year – Osmani Trust

Behind the Scenes – Administration – Raj Athwal (Watford FC)

Behind the Scenes – Medical (Sponsored by SportsRecruit.co.uk) – Dr Zaf Iqbal (Liverpool FC)

Grass Roots Hero (Sponsored by AsiansInFootball.com) – Bal Singh (The KFA)

Asian Community Club of the Year – London Tigers

Inspiration Award – Permi Jhooti

Football Development Project of the Year (Sponsored by Sporting Equals) – Diversity Academy