Taylor named Asian Player of the Year

Swans and Wales defender Neil Taylor has been named Asian Player of the Year for the second time.

Taylor, whose mother is from Kolkata in India, was presented with the award at a special ceremony at Wembley last night.

It was the third Asian Football Awards Dinner which recognises the achievements of British Asians in football.

Taylor, who also helped Wales reach the Euro 2016 Finals, picked up the award for the first time in 2013.

"It's a great feeling to win this award,'' declared Taylor. "It means a lot to me and hopefully Asian football flourishes throughout the years.

"My advice to any young aspiring player is to sacrifice. You have to be willing to sacrifice and follow your own path of where you want go, where you want to be and what you want to achieve. You also need to have people who are willing to go on that journey with you.

"Whatever background you are from, it doesn't matter. You can make it to the top. Hopefully this can inspire the next generation of footballers."

The judging panel for the awards included ex-England internationals Jermain Defoe, Graeme LeSaux and Steve Coppell.

Aston Villa defender Easah Suliman, who recently represented England at the Under-17 World Cup in Chile, was named AFA Young Player.

Two years ago Suliman became the first player with Pakistani heritage to captain an England representative side.

He said: "I feel very honoured and privileged to be here at such a great event. Neil Taylor is a massive inspiration for what he has achieved with Wales and Swansea. If I can emulate him I will have a decent career."

South Korean star Ji So-yun, who plays for Chelsea Ladies in the Women's Super League, claimed the South East Asian Award ahead of Southampton's Maya Yoshida and Swansea's Ki Sung-Yueng.

Gurjit Singh, from Kidderminster Harriers, was the winner of the Non-League Award, while Aditi Chauhan, the West Ham United Ladies FC and India national goalkeeper, won the Woman in Football Award.

The organisers of the awards also hope to raise awareness at the lack of professional players predominantly from a south Asian background with only seven players in England's top four divisions with full-time contracts.

Asian Football Awards founder, Baljit Rihal, said: "Our vision has constantly been to support the growth of Asians in football in the UK.''