Football · Managers' Player Of The Year
Football Managers' Player of the Year Award
The football managers' player of the year award is the manager's personal thank-you to one player. It is not decided by votes or statistics, which is exactly why it matters. It lets the person who picks the team reward the player who did what was asked, every week, often without much credit. We print it on glass in full colour, with your crest at the top and the player's name below.
A few ways to make it yours
The designer
Design yours
Upload your club crest, type up to four lines and see it on the glass.
Simple pricing
End of season award prices: £8.99 small · £13.99 large
Mix sizes and designs freely. One delivery charge per order.
Minimum 5 awards. Delivery £10.00 per order.
Football end of season awards: what managers tend to reward
The managers' award often goes to the player who would never win a vote. The full back who played out of position for half the season without complaint. The midfielder who never missed training. The player who drove teammates to away games and stayed to help take the nets down.
Managers see the whole picture: attendance, attitude, willingness to learn and how a player responds after being dropped. A good speech on presentation night explains a little of that, so the room understands the choice.
Some managers keep a few notes through the season, jotting down a name after a performance or a training session that stood out. By May, the same name tends to appear again and again, and the choice makes itself. It also gives the manager specific moments to mention when presenting, which means far more to the player than a general thank-you for their efforts.
Manager's or managers'
Get the apostrophe right before you order. If one manager is choosing, it is MANAGER'S PLAYER. If a joint management team or a manager and assistant choose together, it is MANAGERS' PLAYER, with the apostrophe after the s.
In junior football the same award is often called the coach's award, because the adult in charge is the coach rather than a manager. Use whatever your club says on matchdays, so it feels natural when it is read out.
Player of the year or of the season
Football clubs use both phrases interchangeably. If your other awards say season, consider matching them so the set looks consistent. The fourth line can carry the season in the usual split format, such as 2025/26, which avoids any confusion about which year the award covers.
MANAGER'S PLAYER on its own is short and reads cleanly across the glass. The full MANAGERS' PLAYER OF THE YEAR is longer, so check it in the live mock-up and pick whichever looks best.
Ordering it with the rest
The managers' award usually sits just below player of the season in importance, so it suits either size: a large block at £13.99 if you want it to stand out, or a small block at £8.99 alongside the squad awards.
In a club with several teams, each manager can choose their own winner and the secretary can put them all through in one order, reusing the crest and changing the team and name lines.
Good to know
Questions
Can the manager's player also win player of the season?
It happens, but many managers deliberately pick someone else so a second player is recognised. If the same name would win both, some clubs give the managers' award to the runner-up for player of the season.
Should the manager's name appear on the award?
It is not usual, but you can. One of the four lines, often the last, could read CHOSEN BY followed by the manager's name, in place of the season.
Can we call it the coach's award for our juniors?
Yes. The title line is free text, so COACH'S AWARD, COACHES' AWARD or MANAGER'S PLAYER all work. Use the wording your age group managers already use.
How quickly will it arrive?
Made in Cornwall and delivered within 7 days Order once each manager has given you their choice, and keep the name quiet until the evening itself. Check the spelling of every winner's name with the manager before you pay.
Keep exploring
Related awards
Club secretaries
Ordering for the whole club?
Finish one design, then reuse the same crest with a new name. Or paste a list of names and add every award in one go. Whatever the number of awards, there is one delivery charge per order.
Ordering for a club