SFWA Young Player of the Year

The Scottish Football Writers' Association Young Player of the Year (often called the SFWA Young Player of the Year, or simply the Scottish Young Player of the Year) award is given to the footballer in the Scottish football league system, who is seen to have been the best young (under 23) player of the previous season. The shortlist is compiled by the members of the Scottish Football Writers' Association (the SFWA), who also vote for the winner.

SFWA Young Player of the Year
Kieran Tierney won the award three times in consecutive seasons
Awarded for	The outstanding young player in each given Scottish football season
Country	Scotland
Presented by	Scottish Football Writers' Association
First awarded	2002
Last awarded	2024
Young Player of the Year	David Watson
Most awards	Kieran Tierney (3)

List of winners

Steven Fletcher (pictured in 2015) was the first player to win the award twice.

As of 2024, the award has been made 23 times and has been won by 20 different players. Kieran Tierney (3) and Steven Fletcher (2) are the only players to have won the award more than once. The award was first made in 2002, and was won by Motherwell forward James McFadden.^[1] As of 2019, the award had been restricted to players who are eligible for selection by the Scotland national under-21 football team.^[2][3]

Season	Nat	Player	Club	Notes
2001–02		James McFadden	Motherwell	[1]
2002–03		Zurab Khizanishvili	Dundee
2003–04		Craig Gordon	Heart of Midlothian
2004–05		Derek Riordan	Hibernian
2005–06		Steven Naismith	Kilmarnock	[4]
2006–07		Scott Brown	Hibernian
2007–08		Steven Fletcher	Hibernian	[5]
2008–09		Steven Fletcher	Hibernian	[5]
2009–10		Danny Wilson	Rangers	[6]
2010–11		David Goodwillie	Dundee United	[7]
2011–12		James Forrest	Celtic	[8]
2012–13		Stuart Armstrong	Dundee United	[9]
2013–14		Stevie May	St Johnstone	[10]
2014–15		Ryan Christie	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	[11]
2015–16		Kieran Tierney	Celtic	[12]
2016–17		Kieran Tierney	Celtic	[13]
2017–18		Kieran Tierney	Celtic	[14]
2018–19		David Turnbull	Motherwell	[1]
2019–20		Lewis Ferguson	Aberdeen	[15][16]
2020–21		Josh Doig	Hibernian	[17][18]
2021–22		Calvin Ramsay	Aberdeen	[19]
2022–23		Max Johnston	Motherwell	[3][20]
2023–24		David Watson	Kilmarnock	[21]

Breakdown of winners

Winners by club

Club	Number of wins	Winning seasons
Hibernian	5	2004–05, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2020–21
Celtic	4	2011–12, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18
Motherwell	3	2001–02, 2018–19, 2022–23
Aberdeen	2	2019–20, 2021–22
Dundee United	2	2010–11, 2012–13
Kilmarnock	2	2005–06, 2023–24
Inverness Caledonian Thistle	1	2014–15
St Johnstone	1	2013–14
Rangers	1	2009–10
Heart of Midlothian	1	2003–04
Dundee	1	2002–03

See also

• SFWA Footballer of the Year
• SFWA International Player of the Year
• SFWA Manager of the Year
• PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year
• PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year
• PFA Scotland Team of the Year
• Scottish Premier League Yearly Awards

References

1. Fisher, Stewart (11 May 2019). "Shades of McFadden as David Turnbull scoops SFWA young player of the year award". Evening Times. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
2. McGarry, John [@johnmcg442] (9 May 2019). "The main player award - yes - anyone can win. For the SFWA young player you have to be eligible for Scotland under 21 team. Differs in that respect from PFA young player award" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 May 2019 – via Twitter.
3. "Young Player of the Year shortlist". scottishfwa.com. SFWA. 16 May 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
4. "Naismith young player of the year". BBC Sport. 14 April 2006. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
5. "Ace Fletcher doubles up young player accolade". Edinburgh Evening News. 16 May 2009.
6. "Danny Wilson completes moves to Liverpool from Rangers". BBC Sport. BBC. 21 July 2010. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
7. "More awards for Izaguirre, Goodwillie and Paatelainen". BBC Sport. 15 May 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
8. "Neil Lennon hails Celtic duo James Forrest and Charlie Mulgrew after pair pick up awards". Daily Record. Trinity Mirror. 5 May 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
9. "Young Player of the Year Stuart Armstrong looks push on at Tannadice". Daily Record. Trinity Mirror. 18 May 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
10. Forsyth, Roddy (6 May 2014). "Rangers' former manager Alex McLeish calls for Dave King peace deal". Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
11. "Ryan Christie is Scottish football writers' young player of the year". BBC Sport. BBC. 17 May 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
12. "Young Player of the Year". SFWA. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
13. "Celtic's Kieran Tierney wins writers' young player of the year award". BBC Sport. BBC. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
14. "It's a hat-trick for KT". Scottish Football Writers' Association. 7 May 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
15. "Shankland, Edouard, McGregor & Morelos in writers' award frame". BBC Sport. BBC. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
16. "Lewis is young player of the year". www.scottishfwa.com. SFWA. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
17. "Who's our brightest young star?". www.scottishfwa.com. SFWA. 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
18. McDermott, Scott (9 May 2021). "Josh Doig emulates Kieran Tierney as Hibs star follows his idol's footsteps to scoop SFWA Young Player of the Year". Sunday Mail. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
19. "Calvin Ramsay's future looks bright as he celebrates Young Player prize". www.scottishfwa.com. SFWA. 27 April 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
20. Grant, Michael (21 May 2023). "SFWA Young Player of the Year Max Johnston: It's my time to kick on". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
21. "David Watson wins Young Player of the Year". scottishfwa.com. SFWA. 12 May 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.