ArsenalFanTV picked up the first trophy of the ‘post-Wenger era’ as one of the big winners from the Football Blogging Awards (FBAs) 2018. Robbie Lyle, who has seen his career grow from viral sensation to national television host, was present on the night to collect the Snack-Media.com Award for Best Overall Football Content Creator.

There were other triumphs for the likes of the F2 Freestylers, Amy Christophers, Spencer FC and 442oons as some of the biggest bloggers, vloggers, YouTubers and influencers in the world descended on Alexandra Palace on Thursday night for the ceremony, which was streamed to over 100,000 people via Sky Sports’ and the FBAs’ digital channels.

Now in its sixth year, the awards celebrate the stars of the football content creation industry, whilst also paving the way for new and up-coming-talent. There were 11 categories, with 21 awards up for grabs overall. Over 200,000 votes were cast by the public for the Fans’ Awards, plus a panel of judges selected their top winners for the Judges’ Awards categories. The FBAs have always had a large following – The past winners social media following is the equivalent to the 7^th biggest football club in the world.

Niall Coen, CEO of Snack Media, who organised the event, said, “Now, more than ever, fans and independent publishers have a voice and medium that carries increasing weight. This is why celebrating the successes across our growing industry of content creation is so important. Looking around the ceremony – and back over this season – I can’t help but feel this has been the year of ‘fan media’ in football.”

Speaking about ArsenalFanTV’s victory, he added, “It is never easy to choose a winner from over 2,000 nominations and congratulations again to all the finalist and FBA winners. Arsenal FanTV deserve recognition ‘doing it the hard way’ from the bottom up, amplifying the views of fans across their media week-in, week-out, this team has challenged the ‘status quo’ of traditional punditry & football coverage whilst contributing to recent global media events. Whether you agree or disagree with the opinions being shared, no one can deny the impact they have had on football over the last 18 months. Congratulations to Robbie & The ArsenalFanTV team for a much-deserved victory.”

On receiving his award Robbie said – “It was a great evening and we are really honoured to be recognised by the FBAs as a channel that has changed how football content has been consumed.  Fans’ voices are now a more important part of the game, our opinions are finally being heard and we hope that this will inspire others to create great content.”

5p0rtz, who launched their £1m World Cup game on the night, presented the much-coveted ‘Best Gambling Football Blog’ Award to Betway.

One of the stars of the FBAs was undoubtedly Max Hayes, of ‘Matchday with Max’ – the teenage reporter for Nottingham Forrest FC – who captivated the crowds and viewers with a rousing acceptance speech after winning the NewsNow Best Young Football Blogger or Vlogger Judges’ Award. Elsewhere, AnfieldEdition picked up the double for Gininet Best New Football Blog Fans’ and Judges Awards and YouTube sensation-turned-presenters, the F2 Freestylers, won The Sky Sports Best Football Influencer Fans’ Award.

The full list of winners is below:

• The Stadia Solutions Best International Football Blog Fans’ Award – Euro Football Daily
• The Stadia Solutions Best International Football Blog Fans’ Award – MLShocker
• The 5p0rtz Best Gambling Football Blog Fans’ Award – Betway
• The 5p0rtz Best Gambling Football Blog Judges’ Award – We Love Betting
• The NewsNow Best Young Football Blogger or Vlogger Fans’ Award – Tekkerz kid
• The NewsNow Best Young Football Blogger or Vlogger Judges’ Award – Matchday with Max
• Gininet Best New Football Blog Fans’ Award – AnfieldEdition
• Gininet Best New Football Blog Judges’ Award – AnfieldEdition
• The Snack Gaming Best Gaming Football Content Creator Fans’ Award – Miniminter
• The Snack Gaming Best Gaming Football Content Creator Judges’ Award – Spencer FC
• Great Branding Company Best Football Club Content Creator Fans’ Award – PalmersFC
• Great Branding Company Best Football Club Content Creator Judges’ Award – City_Watch
• The Digital Sport Best Football Podcast Fans’ Award – Arsenal Vision Podcast
• The Digital Sport Best Football Podcast Judges’ Award – Celtic Star Podcast
• The Panini Best Social Football Account Fans’ Award – 433
• The Panini Best Social Football Account Judges’ Award – DeludedBrendan
• The Jamvid Best Football Video Creator Fans’ Award – 442oons
• The Jamvid Best Football Video Creator Judges’ Award – COPA 90
• The Sky Sports Best Football Influencer Fans’ Award – F2 Freestylers
• The Sky Sports Best Football Influencer Judges’ Award – Amy Christophers
• The Snack Media Award for Best Overall Football Content Creator            – ArsenalFanTV

There were a number of ex footballers, journalists and tv personalities who attended the event – which was presented by Sky Sports presenter, Adam Smith – including the likes of Luther Blissett, Neil ‘Razor’ Ruddock, Bianca Westwood and Paul Hawksbee.

The Football Blogging Awards would like to thank the following for their support throughout the event: Sky Sports, Alexandra Palace, 5p0rtz, Stadia Solutions, Gininet, Sporting Memories Network, Jamvid, The Great Branding Company, Digital Sport, Snack Gaming, Panini, NewsNow and Heineken.