The award has been presented since the 2012–13 season, and the winner is chosen by a vote amongst the members of the players' trade union, the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA).
“A Team of the Year is assembled for each of the top four tiers in the men's pyramid and the Women's Super League.”
So, was Chelsea robbed? They won the WSL, scoring the most points ever in a season, went unbeaten, and were the first club to do so, with 13 clean sheets and the fewest goals conceded. They also won the league title and the FA cup again. The second is that they have won the domestic treble.
The award is the WSL team of the year, so why are players being selected who didn’t win the league, the league cup, or the FA, but won the Champions League, which is supposed to hold no boundary on this award, as it’s based on the WSL?
Could someone clarify this? Do players have to play in the WSL, and is their performance evaluated based on the entire season? It was based directly on the league.
“The shortlist is compiled by members of the PFA and voted for by the other players in their respective divisions”
So, it’s based on the WSL, not the Champions League, which raises the question of why Arsenal dominated, rather than Chelsea, who won the domestic treble.
The players themselves voted for this award, so could it be that they were fed up with Chelsea winning and therefore did not vote for them?
Serious outcry and rage that this is a trophy for the team of the season and the club that went unbeaten won the domestic treble broke barriers and records got the joint most clean sheets and conceded the least goals only had two players in the starting XI no wonder they didn’t turn up they were robbed even Arsenal fans who seemingly had four players in the squad have agreed.
So here is who I would have put in instead:
Keeper- Hannah Hampton
Defenders- Lucy Bronze, Millie Bright, Le Tissier, Nathalie Björn
Midfield- Erin Cuthbert, Yui Hasegawa, Grace Clinton
Forwards- Bunny Shaw, Alessia Russo, Mariona Caldentey
Moving on to the individual winners
Arsenal midfielder Mariona Caldentey has been named the Professional Footballers' Association women's player of the year.
Caldentey, 29, scored 19 goals in 41 appearances in all competitions in her first season with the Gunners, following a move from Barcelona, including nine goals and five assists in the Women's Super League (WSL).
She, however, was not the WSL all-time goalscorer; that was a joint honour between Bunny Shaw and Alessia Russo. But she did win the player of the women's Super League for the 2024/25 season.
PFA merit award
Ex-Chelsea and current USNT manager won the PFA merit award in recognition of her contributions to women's football during an illustrious career with Chelsea.
She built a dynasty at Chelsea single-handedly, the reason for its success over the last decade and beyond, when she dominated English football.
The 48-year-old, who spent 12 years in charge of the Blues, is a serial winner and led the club to 16 trophies, including seven WSL titles and five FA Cups.
She is also a six-time WSL manager of the season winner and has picked up the Best Fifa football coach award twice.
Since leaving Chelsea at the end of the 2023-24 season, Hayes has continued to enjoy success on the international stage with the USA, leading them to gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Off the field, Hayes has been a spokesperson for women's health, advocating for research on menstrual cycle patterns, encouraging studies on the relationships between female footballers and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries, and pushing for education in nutrition.
Young Player Award
Olivia Smith was awarded the Young Player Award, despite criticism for her selection. She scored only seven goals, whereas another nominee, Aggie Beever-Jones, scored nine goals and won a domestic treble, playing a crucial role for Chelsea since Sam Kerr's injury in January 2024.
Canada forward Smith said it "means the world to her" to become the first foreign player to win the award.
She told BBC Sport: "This genuinely means the world to me, knowing that no other foreigner has won this award.
"Whenever I go home, it's so cool to see the girls that I inspire, and being a role model they look up to is massive for me and a huge privilege. I want this to help other girls and boys."
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