BT Sport has agreed a deal to take over as the main sponsor and broadcaster of the prestigious PFA Awards.
The 2014 ceremony will be held at the Grosvenor House in London on Sunday, April 27 and hosted by BT Sport’s lead football presenter Jake Humphrey.
A 30-minute highlights show will be broadcast on BT Sport the following night, bringing viewers all the atmosphere of the night as the country’s top players, sporting VIPs, industry professionals and media gather to mark another memorable year.
Former in 1907, the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) is the world’s longest established professional sportsperson’s union and the 2014 ceremony will be the 41st time it has staged the awards.
Welsh star Gareth Bale was named both Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year at the 2013 ceremony when playing for Tottenham Hotspur, becoming only the third player to win both awards in the same season.
This year, three Liverpool players have made the six-man shortlist for the 2014 PFA Player of the Year Award.
The inclusion of captain Steven Gerrard and strikers Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge is a tribute to their contribution to Liverpool’s outstanding season, which looks likely to end with them being crowned champions for the first time in 24 years.
Chelsea midfielder Eden Hazard, Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure and Southampton’s rising star Adam Lallana are the three other names on the shortlist.
Sturridge and Hazard are also nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year Award, along with Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling, Everton’s Ross Barkley, Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey and Luke Shaw of Southampton.
Merseyside is also well represented in the Women’s Player of the Year award with reigning champions Liverpool Ladies having three players nominated – defender Lucy Bronze, striker Natasha Dowie and German midfielder Nicole Rolser.
The other women in contention are goalkeeper Siobhan Chamberlain, who played for Bristol Academy last season and is now with Arsenal, central midfielder Jordan Nobbs (Arsenal) and ex-Arsenal midfielder Kim Little, now of Seattle Reign.
The Women’s Young Player of the Year shortlist also includes Bronze and Nobbs along with striker Danielle Carter (Arsenal). England forward Isobel Christiansen, of Manchester City Women, defender Alex Greenwood (Everton Ladies) and defender Martha Harris (Liverpool) complete the nominees.
The 2014 PFA Awards at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London marked the first time that BT Sport has covered the event, which has previously been shown for many years by Sky Sports.
Gavin Patterson, Chief Executive of BT Group, said: “We are delighted to extend our support for football by sponsoring the PFA Awards.
“This year’s winners will be joining an extremely distinguished list of previous winners. We are really pleased to show our support for male and female professional players at every level.
“As broadcasters of the Barclays Premier League, FA Cup with Budweiser, FA Women’s Super League and the Skrill Football Conference, BT Sport is a growing part of the national game and we aim to help develop the sport and support clubs and players.”
PFA Chief Executive Gordon Taylor, OBE, said: “These awards celebrate outstanding achievement in football and looking at this year’s nominations it is clear that this has been an incredibly competitive year.
“Each of the six men nominated for the Players’ Award could expect to be recognised by their fellow professionals, as they have each had a superb season individually and played significant roles in the success of their clubs this year.”
Highlights of the 2014 PFA Awards will be broadcast on BT Sport in a special half-hour show on Monday, April 27 at 9.45pm.
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| 2014 PFA NOMINATIONS |
Player of the Year
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
Adam Lallana (Southampton)
Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool)
Luis Suarez (Liverpool)
Yaya Toure (Manchester City)
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Young Player of the Year
Ross Barkley (Everton)
Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal)
Luke Shaw (Southampton)
Raheem Sterling (Liverpool)
Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool)
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Women’s Player of the Year
Lucy Bronze (Liverpool Ladies)
Siobhan Chamberlain (Arsenal Ladies)
Natasha Dowie (Liverpool Ladies)
Kim Little (Seattle Reign)
Jordan Nobbs (Arsenal Ladies)
Nicole Rolser (Liverpool Ladies)
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Women’s Young Player of the Year
Lucy Bronze (Liverpool Ladies)
Danielle Carter (Arsenal Ladies)
Isobel Christiansen (Manchester City Women)
Alex Greenwood (Everton Ladies)
Martha Harris (Liverpool Ladies)
Jordan Nobbs (Arsenal Ladies)
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