The Scottish Football Writers' Association (SFWA) is an association of Scottish football journalists and correspondents writing for newspapers and agencies. It was founded in 1965.
Awards
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Every year the SFWA presents awards to outstanding contributors. The awards include:
- Footballer of the Year award
- Young Player of the Year
- SFWA International Player of the Year award to the best player in the Scotland national football team
- Manager of the Year
Footballer of the Year is seen as one of the two most prestigious prizes in Scottish football, alongside the SPFA Players' Player of the Year award.
Sexism
In September 2003, the organisation was widely criticised for an exclusionary vote, reportedly its third, which banned its members from inviting female guests to the SFWA awards.
Bill Copeland incident
Some guests walked out of the SFWA awards ceremony on 8 May 2022 in protest at jokes by after-dinner speaker Bill Copeland that were described as "sexist, racist and homophobic". Women in Football and Kick It Out issued a joint statement describing the remarks as such, adding "we expect better and demand better". Journalists who left in protest included Sky Sports presenter Eilidh Barbour and Women in Journalism Scotland co-chair Gabriella Bennett; Barbour commented that she "never felt so unwelcome in the industry"
The SFWA said afterwards that it "apologises to anyone offended or upset" by the material. The formal apology issued the following day gave an undertaking that this "will act as a catalyst to review and improve the format of our future events" to make them "inspirational" for all.