The first ever Asian Football Awards took place at Wembley Stadium.

The first ever Asian Football Awards supported by The FA and Kick It Out, with Sporting Equals as its legacy partner saw leading figures come out to support the glitzy event at the home of football, Wembley Stadium.

Guests for this event included David Bernstein (FA Chairman), Paul Elliot, Graham Le Saux, Piara Powar, Mihir Bose, Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham) and award winners Michael Chopra and Manish Bhasin.

The AFA managed to engage with key representatives of those individuals working hard to engage with their communities and develop Asians within the game. The event brought together representatives of clubs and organisations such as Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, QPR, Wolves, Charlton, Liverpool, The PFA and many leading Asian organisations.

Baljit Rihal, Co-Founder of Asian Football Awards, said: “The first ever Asian Football Awards was a celebration of the success of Asians in all aspects of UK football. We are proud to have created the awards which we are confident will be an annual high profile event.”

Imran Hassan, Co-Founder Asian Football Awards, added: “It was really pleasing seeing so many key figures supporting and enjoying the awards.

“A very big congratulations to all the nominees and winners, it really was truly inspirational to see so many role models, in particular nominees like Rikin Shah and Lifetime Achievement recipient Jarnail Singh”

Winners

The Player of the Year Award - Michael Chopra (Ipswich Town)

The Young Player of the Year Award – Danny Batth (Wolves/Sheff Wed)

Lifetime Achievement Award – Jarnail Singh (Referee)

Football Media Award – Manish Bhasin (BBC)

Investors in Football – Tony Fernandes and Lakshmi Mittal (QPR)

Coach of the Year – Nas Bashir (Hayes and Yeading FC)

Asian Woman in Football – Rimla Akhtar

Foundation of the Year – Osmani Trust

Behind the Scenes – Administration – Raj Athwal (Watford FC)

Behind the Scenes – Medical – Dr Zaf Iqbal (Liverpool FC)

Grass Roots Hero – Bal Singh (The KFA)

Asian Community Club of the Year – London Tigers

Inspiration Award – Permi Jhooti

Football Development Project of the Year – Diversity Academy (Nottingham)

Click here for  website 

Click here for coverage of the 2012 event.

Click here for Event Brochure.

For further information and details of how to nominate for the 2013 Asian Football Awards event, contact Baljit Rihal - bal@inventivesports.co.uk