EFL Awards 2023: The Winners List

The winners list are gradually being revealed for the much anticipated 2023 EFL Awards, which took place on Sunday the 23rd of April.

The 2023 EFL Awards celebrates and recognises the continued efforts and achievements of Championship, League One and League Two clubs, players and individuals during what has been an incredibly challenging season for everyone.

The guests arrived at Grosvenor House with proceedings starting at 6pm and ending at around 10pm.

Vincent Kompany, Michael Carrick and Mark Robins knew they would be battling it out to be named EFL Championship Manager of the Season at the 2023 EFL Awards… although it might be rather obviously who will clinch that honour.

Chuba Akpom, Viktor Gyökeres and Josh Brownhill were nominated for the EFL Championship Player of the Season.

In League One, a potential promotion tussle makes up the shortlist for Manager of the Season, with Kieran McKenna (Ipswich Town), Steven Schumacher (Plymouth Argyle) and Darren Moore (Sheffield Wednesday) shortlisted.

In the EFL Player of the Season category, Wednesday’s midfield maestro Barry Bannan is pitted alongside Bristol Rovers’ Aaron Collins, who has 15 goals and 11 assists so far this season, and the division’s top goalscorer with 24 goals, Peterborough United’s Jonson Clarke-Harris.

In League Two, Paul Simpson (Carlisle United), Richie Wellens (Leyton Orient) and Steve Evans (Stevenage) are shortlisted for Manager of the Season, with their respective Clubs currently occupying three of the top five spots in the division.

Bradford City’s Andy Cook and Northampton Town’s Sam Hoskins have 44 goals between them in the league so far, as they vie for the EFL Player of the Season award alongside Stevenage’s defensive lynchpin and captain, Carl Piergianni.

2023 EFL AWARDS WINNERS LIST

EFL Championship Manager of the Season, Sponsored by Football Manager
WINNER: Vincent Kompany – Burnley
Mark Robins – Coventry City
Michael Carrick – Middlesbrough

EFL League One Manager of the Season, Sponsored by Football Manager
Kieran McKenna – Ipswich Town
WINNER: Steven Schumacher – Plymouth Argyle
Darren Moore – Sheffield Wednesday

EFL League Two Manager of the Season, Sponsored by Football Manager
Paul Simpson – Carlisle United
WINNER: Richie Wellens – Leyton Orient
Steve Evans – Stevenage

EFL Championship Player of the Season, Sponsored by Sky Bet
Josh Brownhill – Burnley
Viktor Gyökeres – Coventry City
WINNER: Chuba Akpom – Middlesbrough

EFL League One Player of the Season, Sponsored by Sky Bet
WINNER: Aaron Collins – Bristol Rovers
Jonson Clarke-Harris – Peterborough United
Barry Bannan – Sheffield Wednesday

EFL League Two Player of the Season, Sponsored by Sky Bet
Andy Cook – Bradford City
WINNER: Sam Hoskins – Northampton Town
Carl Piergianni – Stevenage

EFL Championship Young Player of the Season, Sponsored by EA Sports
WINNER: Alex Scott – Bristol City
Hayden Hackney – Middlesbrough
Amad Diallo – Sunderland AFC

EFL League One Young Player of the Season, Sponsored by EA Sports
Jes Rak-Sakyi – Charlton Athletic
Cameron Humphreys – Ipswich Town
WINNER: Bali Mumba – Plymouth Argyle

EFL League Two Young Player of the Season, Sponsored by EA Sports
WINNER: Junior Tchamadeu – Colchester United
Jayden Sweeney – Leyton Orient
Jacob Wakeling – Swindon Town

EFL Championship Apprentice of the Season, Sponsored by LFE
WINNER: Ash Phillips – Blackburn Rovers
Jamie Knight-Lebel – Bristol City
Emre Tezgel – Stoke City

EFL League One Apprentice of the Season, Sponsored by LFE
Fábio Jaló – Barnsley
WINNER: Zach Mitchell – Charlton Athletic
Gatlin O’Donkor – Oxford United

EFL League Two Apprentice of the Season, Sponsored by LFE
Matúš Holíček – Crewe Alexandra
Emmanuel Ilesanmi – Harrogate Town
WINNER: Josh Tomlinson – Northampton Town

EFL Teams of the Season

Championship Team of the Season

Goalkeeper	Ben Wilson	Coventry City
Defender	Connor Roberts	Burnley
Defender	Anel Ahmedhodžić	Sheffield United
Defender	Tom Lockyer	Luton Town
Defender	Ian Maatsen	Burnley
Midfielder	Alex Scott	Bristol City
Midfielder	Josh Brownhill	Burnley
Midfielder	Nathan Tella	Burnley
Forward	Iliman Ndiaye	Sheffield United
Forward	Chuba Akpom	Middlesbrough
Forward	Viktor Gyokeres	Coventry City

League One Team of the Season

Goalkeeper	Michael Cooper	Plymouth Argyle
Defender	Bali Mumba	Plymouth Argyle
Defender	Leif Davis	Ipswich Town
Defender	Mads Anderson	Barnsley
Defender	Ricardo Santos	Bolton Wanderers
Midfielder	Conor Hourihane	Derby County
Midfielder	Barry Bannan	Sheffield Wednesday
Forward	Josh Windass	Sheffield Wednesday
Forward	Aaron Collins	Bristol Rovers
Forward	Jonson Clarke-Harris	Peterborough United
Forward	Conor Chaplin	Ipswich Town

League Two Team of the Season

EFL Club Employee Award
WINNER: John Clarke – Burton Albion
Jerry Tocknell – Bristol City
Abdul Khalique – Portsmouth

John originally joined Burton Albion on a voluntary basis, working closely with club staff and players, from assisting coaches at training to working in player care and life skills among the academy. John has lived with quadriplegic cerebral palsy his entire life and is now in the process of gaining his coaching badges, with the help of the Academy’s head of coaching, as part of the Club’s development plan.

EFL Fan Engagement Award
WINNER: Bolton Wanderers
Lincoln City
Reading

EFL Diversity Award
Bolton Wanderers
WINNER: Middlesbrough
Watford

The club has run a number of programmes to support people living with dementia including visits to the stadium, supporting families and visits to care homes along with dedicated disability match days.

EFL Innovation Award, Sponsored by CSM Live
Millwall
WINNER – Norwich City
Portsmouth

EFL Green Club Award
WINNER: Bristol City
Northampton Town
Reading

EFL Supporter of the Season

Sir Tom Finney Award
WINNER: Bayo Akinfenwa

🏆 The 2023 recipient of The Sir Tom Finney Award is @daRealAkinfenwa! 👏

📺 Watch live: https://t.co/AyRO1vAFqK

📱 Follow live: https://t.co/jTClu58Aql#EFL | #EFLAwards pic.twitter.com/Fp4JltJuhQ

— EFL (@EFL) April 23, 2023

Contribution to League Football
WINNER: Chris Kamara

🏆 A special moment at the #EFLAwards as @chris_kammy accepts the Contribution to League Football Award. ❤️👏

📺 Watch live: https://t.co/AyRO1vAFqK

📱 Follow live: https://t.co/jTClu58Aql#EFL pic.twitter.com/VzXzL3bJHn

— EFL (@EFL) April 23, 2023

2022/23 Goal of the Season, Sponsored by Hawkeye

Community Club of the Season

WINNER: Championship – Wigan Athletic: Through Community Trust-run programmes, Wigan Athletic has reached over 11,000 people in the last year, with an average contact time of 27 hours per person. While delivering programmes in health and wellbeing, education and employability the club has particularly excelled in its ‘supporters project’, which uses funds to tackle loneliness among Wigan Athletic supporters in the deprived areas.

League One – Plymouth Argyle: ‘One Argyle’ has had the most successful year in its history with work delivered across Cornwall and Devon. The clubs Project 35 was launched in response to the rising cost of living crisis to fight poverty and has since delivered more than 30,000 meals to those in need, along with free education and wellbeing sessions to identified adults and children.

League Two – Swindon Town: With an ethos of ‘never standing still’, Swindon Town’s activity includes refugee football, free weekly exercise sessions, mentoring and hot meals for people in emergency accommodation and tackling mental health challenges in children.

Community Project of the Season

Championship – Stoke City – Keep Stoke Smiling

Stoke-on-Trent sits near the bottom of the English league table for oral health care in children, with almost 30,000 children admitted to hospital for dental care last year at a cost of £50mill to the NHS. Created to raise awareness of oral health, following a successful pilot, ‘Keep Stoke Smiling’ is now delivered in schools in the most deprived areas of Stoke, providing children with a free toothbrush and toothpaste, while educating them on the importance of dental hygiene.

WINNER: League One – Milton Keynes Dons – Knife Angel: Anti-Violence

Last summer saw MK Dons team up with Thames Valley Police to develop an anti-violence and knife crime education project, following a number of knife crimes in the area. The stadium hosted the Knife Angel statue to raise awareness and in doing so provided information to the 25,000 people who visited. More than 70 Education workshops were delivered to 3,500 school children and during the month, almost 300 knives were surrendered at the newly installed amnesty bins at the stadium.

League Two – Doncaster Rovers – Fit Families: Pre & Post-Natal Project

A first project of its kind, Doncaster Rovers’ fit families provides new parents with the opportunity to return to exercise through low impact activity after giving birth, with their baby in attendance. The six-week long programme takes on a different theme for baby sensory each week and covers a range of health and wellbeing topics, such as mental and physical health, nutrition and even first aid.

EFL Player in the Community Award

Championship – Hakeem Odoffin, Rotherham United

Hakeem has reached double figures in his community appearances this season and does so with enthusiasm, a sense of humour, empathy and intelligence. Quoted previously, Hakeem said: “Whatever I am asked to do, the answer is always yes,” – a true professional on and off the pitch and an example to follow.

League One – George Edmundson, Ipswich Town

George was recently announced as Ipswich Town’s disability ambassador and regularly attends the Club’s disability team’s training sessions. After realising the team didn’t have a kit for their fixtures, George bought them all a full Ipswich Town replica kit out of his own money. He said “just because it’s the disability team, I don’t think they should be treated any differently to us. We are one club and should all look the same.”

WINNER: League Two – Omar Beckles, Leyton Orient

Regularly active in the local community, Omar continues to dedicate his time campaigning for issues that are important to him. In the last year he has devised a mental health campaign in local schools, runs a futsal club every Saturday, is heavily involved in Orient in the Community’s project zero campaign and personally mentors young people most in need on a weekly basis.