PFA Awards 2026: Rice, Haaland and Fernandes among nominees as ceremony set for Manchester

The 2026 PFA Awards are being held at the Manchester Opera House on Tuesday, with the headline Men’s Players’ Player of the Year award set to be contested by some of English football’s standout performers from the past season.

The men’s shortlist is heavily weighted towards Arsenal, with Declan Rice, Gabriel Magalhães and David Raya all nominated. They are joined by Manchester City pair Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki, as well as Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes, who has already claimed the Premier League Player of the Year award.

In the Women’s Players’ Player of the Year category, Manchester City striker Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw — a former winner of the award — faces competition from Arsenal’s Alessia Russo, Chelsea’s Lauren James, City team-mate Yui Hasegawa, Manchester United’s Jess Park and Aston Villa’s Kirsty Hanson.

Beyond the headline prizes, the ceremony will also recognise the Men’s and Women’s PFA Young Player of the Year, the PFA Merit Award, Community Champions, and the Players’ Player of the Year across the Championship, League One, League Two and the WSL2.

Red carpet fan pens at the Manchester Opera House open at 2.30pm BST, with the indoor ceremony and the announcement of the major awards expected to get underway from around 7.30pm BST. The main ceremony will not be broadcast on traditional UK television channels; award winners will be announced in real time across the PFA’s official social media channels, with red carpet arrivals also streamed live.