Asian Football Awards: Hamza Choudhury, Yan Dhanda, Zidane Iqbal and Kira Rai head list of winners at Wembley

Hamza Choudhury, Yan Dhanda, Zidane Iqbal and Kira Rai headed the list of winners at the 2024 Asian Football Awards at Wembley Stadium.

Leicester City midfielder Choudhury, who was named Sports Personality of the Year at last week's Asian Achievers Awards, was announced as joint-winner of the men's player award alongside Hearts' summer arrival Dhanda.

Derby County winger Kira Rai pipped Nottingham Forest midfielder Millie Chandarana and OFI Crete attacker Aqsa Mushtaq to the women's player award.

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FC Utrecht midfielder and former Manchester United youngster Zidane Iqbal picked up the young player of the year award, with Wigan first-team coach Shadab Iftikhar landing the coach award.

Sky Sports News' Dev Trehan won the Media award for his work around British South Asians in Football.

Sky Sports' Dharmesh Sheth hosted the awards at Wembley Stadium, with the FA Cup trophy on display and the British South Asians in Football team of the season also showcased at the home of English football on the night.

The annual combined squad and XI celebrates the on-field contribution made by British South Asians in football leagues across the world, and has previously been showcased at elite and semi-professional English clubs, including Brentford, Sporting Khalsa, Leicester City and Punjab United.

All the footballers shortlisted at the Asian Football Awards were part of the 2023/24 squad, with seven of those players taking up positions in the starting XI.

The awards were supported by the FA, PFA, Premier League, PGMOL and the Fans for Diversity campaign.

Rai 'so proud' to represent Derby County

Ewes winger Rai, who last month made her 100th career appearance for Derby County, said she enjoys the responsibility of trying to be a role model for the next generation of footballers from South Asian backgrounds.

"It's a wonderful feeling to be named Women's Footballer of the Year," Rai told Sky Sports News.

"It's taken a lot of perseverance and dedication to get here. It's a great reward for my family who have made so many sacrifices, and the Punjabi Rams who have always supported me.

"I am so proud to represent Derby County Football Club and this wouldn't happen without the support of all of my team-mates over the years, and the staff and people across the club.

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"I'm really grateful for that and really grateful to be in a position where I can be a visible role model to try and inspire the next generation of South Asians in the game."

Winners of The 5th Asian Football Awards in full

• Community Club Award - Punjab United
• FA Grassroots Award - Shahid Malji (Super 5 League London)
• Match Official of the Year - Sunny Singh Gill
• Inclusion Project Award - The FA (Faith in Football/South Asian Inclusion)
• Media Award - Dev Trehan (Sky Sports)
• Premier League Academy Award - Manisha Tailor (Spurs), Ashvir Johal (Notts County), Jazz Sodhi (Aston Villa)
• Inspiration Award - Rashid Abba (West Ham)
• Professional Coach Award - Shadab Iftikhar (Wigan Athletic)
• Young Player (U23) - Zidane Iqbal (FC Utrecht)
• Founders Special Recognition - Vinay Menon (Wellness Coach - former Chelsea FC and Belgium World Cup team)
• Men's Player Award - Yan Dhanda (Hearts), Hamza Choudhury (Leicester City)
• Women's Player Award - Kira Rai (Derby County Women's FC)
• Fan Group Award - Punjabi Villans (Aston Villa)
• Special Recognition - Voluntary Services to Officiating - Rashpal Shergill

British South Asians in Football

For more stories, features and videos, visit our ground-breaking South Asians in Football page on skysports.com and stay tuned to Sky Sports News and our Sky Sports digital platforms.

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