SFWA Footballer of the Year


The Scottish Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in Scottish football. The award has been presented since the 1964–65 season, and the winner is selected by a vote amongst the members of the Scottish Football Writers' Association, which comprises over 100 football journalists based throughout Scotland. The first winner was Celtic's Billy McNeill, and the first non-Scottish winner was Mark Hateley of Rangers in 1994. Seven players have won the award on more than one occasion, the most recent being Leigh Griffiths, who won his second award in the 2015–16 season.
The award was instigated in 1965, eight years after the association was founded, and committee member Allan Herron was charged with obtaining the permission of the Scottish Football Association to make the first award. Each member of the association casts one vote and also nominates a runner-up. In the event of a tie for first place the number of runner-up votes is taken into consideration. Although it is the older of the two awards, the SFWA award is considered by the players themselves to be of secondary importance to the PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year because the winner of the PFA Scotland award is chosen by his fellow professionals.

List of winners

The award has been presented on 56 occasions as of 2020, with 48 different individual players winning. Seven different players have won the award twice, and on one occasion the award was presented collectively to the Scotland national squad. The table also indicates where the winning player also won the PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year award. In 2012–13, Leigh Griffiths became the first player to win the SFWA award and the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year award in the same season.
won the award in 1987.
was the 1992 winner.
was the 2007 winner.
SeasonPlayerClubAlso wonNotes
1964–65Celtic
1965–66Rangers
1966–67Celtic
1967–68Raith Rovers
1968–69Celtic
1969–70Hibernian
1970–71Aberdeen
1971–72Rangers
1972–73Celtic
1973–74Scotland World Cup squadN/A
1974–75Rangers
1975–76Rangers
1976–77Celtic
1977–78RangersSPFA
1978–79Morton
1979–80Aberdeen
1980–81Partick Thistle
1981–82Dundee United
1982–83CelticSPFA
1983–84AberdeenSPFA
1984–85Dundee United
1985–86Heart of Midlothian
1986–87CelticSPFA
1987–88CelticSPFA
1988–89Rangers
1989–90Aberdeen
1990–91Dundee United
1991–92RangersSPFA
1992–93RangersSPFA
1993–94RangersSPFA
1994–95RangersSPFA
1995–96RangersSPFA
1996–97Rangers
1997–98Celtic
1998–99CelticSPFA
1999–00Rangers
2000–01CelticSPFA
2001–02Celtic
2002–03RangersSPFA
2003–04Celtic
2004–05CelticSPFA
2005–06Heart of Midlothian
2006–07CelticSPFA
2007–08Rangers
2008–09Celtic
2009–10Rangers
2010–11CelticSPFA
2011–12CelticSPFA
2012–13Hibernian
2013–14CelticSPFA
2014–15Celtic
2015–16CelticSPFA
2016–17CelticSPFA
2017–18CelticSPFA
2018–19CelticSPFA
2019–20Celtic

Breakdown of winners

Winners by country

Winners by club