The BBC has unveiled its inaugural end-of-season football awards, drawing on the collective wisdom of a distinguished panel that includes former internationals like Chris Sutton, Danny Murphy, and Fara Williams. Across the Premier League, Women's Super League, Scottish Premiership, and EFL, the accolades spotlight the players, managers, and moments that defined the 2025-26 campaign. While global stars like Declan Rice and Khadija Shaw dominated the headlines, the narrowest margin came north of the border, where Hearts boss Derek McInnes clinched the Scottish Premiership manager prize by a single vote, underscoring a season of fine margins at Tynecastle.
McInnes’s triumph was as dramatic as the title race itself. His Hearts side took the championship fight to the final day, only to be denied by eventual champions Celtic in a cruel twist that extended the wait for a non-Old Firm title winner to 41 years. The 53-year-old’s ability to sustain a push against superior resources earned him the nod over Motherwell’s Jens Berthel Askou, whose fourth-place finish secured European football but wasn’t enough to keep him at Fir Park—Askou has since departed to become head coach of Toulouse in France. Celtic’s Martin O’Neill, who steadied the club after the departures of Brendan Rodgers and Wilfried Nancy to claim a fifth straight league flag, could only muster third in the voting, a testament to the impact McInnes made by defying the established order.
Hearts’ near miss was fuelled in large part by Portuguese forward Claudio Braga, who bagged 14 goals and three assists to be named the BBC’s Scottish Premiership player of the season. His tenacity and clinical edge made him a constant threat, though Motherwell’s Elijah Just and his own teammate Lawrence Shankland—who is heading to Rangers this summer—pushed him hard in the pecking order. Shankland’s impending move across the Glasgow divide adds a subplot to an already engrossing rivalry, and his absence next term will be deeply felt at Hearts. Meanwhile, the young talent conveyor belt didn’t halt: Falkirk’s Barney Stewart and Kilmarnock’s Findlay Curtis shared the breakthrough gong, while Youssef Chermiti’s acrobatic overhead kick for Rangers against Celtic won goal of the season.
Down south, Arsenal’s long-awaited coronation dominated the Premier League discussion. Declan Rice collected the player of the season award after a campaign in which his midfield mastery—amplified by wicked set-piece delivery—propelled the Gunners to their first title since 2004. Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes, who set a new single-season assists record, placed second, while Brentford’s 22-goal striker Igor Thiago came third. Mikel Arteta, the architect of that 22-year itch finally being scratched, was a popular choice for manager of the season, with Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola and Brentford’s Keith Andrews also receiving substantial backing. Arteta’s work is not done, however; he leads his side into a Champions League final against Paris St-Germain this weekend, capping a transformative year.
The awards also celebrated the league’s finest detail. Rising star Nico O’Reilly of Manchester City took the young player prize for his buccaneering runs from full-back, while Fulham’s Harrison Reed bagged goal of the season for a last-gasp 25-yard strike against Liverpool that swerved violently into the top corner. The signing of the season accolade went to a player who swapped the Bundesliga for Wearside: Granit Xhaka moved from Bayer Leverkusen to Sunderland for £17 million, a deal that provided the foundation for a respectable campaign at the Stadium of Light. In a season of surprises, Tottenham’s brush with relegation stood out as the shock, while Ange Postecoglou’s dismissal at Nottingham Forest was voted the most predictable sacking—a reflection of both the Greek-Australian’s turbulent tenure and the ruthless churn of top-flight management.
Manchester City’s women were the dominant force in the WSL, and Khadija Shaw was the dominant individual. The Jamaican striker’s 21 goals in 22 matches powered City to their first league title in a decade, earning her over 80% of the vote for player of the season in a landslide. Her four assists were almost a sideshow to the sheer volume and variety of her scoring, and she recently renewed her contract to underline her commitment. Manager Andree Jeglertz mirrored that dominance, missing out on only one vote as his side broke Chelsea’s stranglehold on the league. City could yet add a domestic double when they face Brighton in the Women’s FA Cup final. The breakthrough player award went Chelsea’s Veerle Buurman, highlighting the depth of young talent emerging across the league.
In the EFL, the honours were spread across the divisions with narratives of revival and resilience. Championship player of the season Hayden Hackney was the midfield engine that took Middlesbrough to the play-off final, though his injury probably cost them promotion. The managerial accolade was shared between Frank Lampard, who steered Coventry back to the top flight after 25 years, and Alex Neil, whose Millwall side narrowly missed out in the play-offs. League One saw Dom Ballard of Leyton Orient defy a relegation fight with 23 goals to earn player of the season, while Lincoln City’s Michael Skubala was a unanimous manager pick after guiding the Imps to an unexpected title. In League Two, Swindon’s Aaron Drinan took the player prize with 22 goals, but the story of the year belonged to Andy Woodman, who secured Bromley’s second straight promotion—an achievement so emphatic he received every single vote.
From the Premier League’s proven stars to the lower-league strivers, the BBC awards captured a season rich in storylines. They reflect a changing of the guard at some clubs, the cementing of legacies at others, and the unscripted drama that keeps fans enthralled. As the dust settles on 2025-26, the conversation already turns to what these winners—and the new arrivals, like Shankland at Rangers and Xhaka at Sunderland—will produce next term.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport.
