Votes have been cast and the winners of the inaugural Women’s Football Awards are almost ready to be announced.
The Lionesses as well as other members of women’s football royalty have started arriving at the glitzy ceremony at Nobu Hotel in London.
Eni Aluko, who made 102 appearances for the England national team, is hosting the ceremony alongside Jamie Carragher, a presenter at Sky Sports.
She’s already arrived but there will be plenty more famous faces appearing throughout the evening – and Metro.co.uk will be updating you as they walk the red carpet.
Men’s England captain Harry Kane has also arrived in support of the women’s game.
Our reporter Kirsten Robertson was lucky enough to be invited and she’s got the gossip from inside the event.
She tells us Cary Wakefield of Ovarian Cancer Action has taken to the stage to speak about the work of the charity.
She brought up June Mead, Beth Mead’s mother, who recently died of ovarian cancer.
Cary told the room: ‘A woman dies of ovarian cancer every two hours in this country.
‘Woman like June face a reality where only one in three women survive.’
Beth Mead herself also shared a video message where she wished everyone well at the event, and commended the work of Ovarian Cancer Action.
Music started the evening, with the M People’s Heather Small getting the party started.
She ended her set with an acapella version of Simply the Best in honour of Tina Turner, who passed away yesterday.
Peter Sutton, growing the women’s team at Blackburn Rovers FC, is in attendance.
He told Metro.co.uk: ‘It is an honour and privilege to be here at the Women’s Football Awards, to celebrate the amazing achievements across the game is so important.
‘As a family club, Blackburn Rovers are passionate about the women’s game and are determined to support it in any way we can. Our goal is to inspire the next generation of players and supporters and have fun along the way.’
The ceremony will mark the first time that all levels of women’s football will be recognised at one major awards event.
Other big names, in sport or otherwise, have also arrived, including boxer Nicola Adams and broadcaster, musician Myleene Klass, radio host Roman Kemp and singer Fleur East.
More than 20,000 footie fans cast their votes for categories like Best Club of the Year, Journalist or Broadcaster of the Year, and Marketing Campaign of the Year.
Manchester United’s Mary Earps, Barcelona’s Lucy Bronze and Arsenal’s Beth Mead are all nominated this evening.
Others from the triumphant Euros 2022 squad, such as Leah Williamson, Alessia Russo, Keira Walsh and Georgina Stanway, could also scoop further silverware at the ceremony.
Votes will now be assessed by a star-studded judging panel including Lionesses Nikita Parris and Jess Carter and sports media personalities such as Hayley McQueen, Sue Smith and Seema Jaswal.
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