Former EFL star Adebayo Akinfenwa has scooped the Sir Tom Finney Award at tonight's EFL Awards 2023.
A player and cult hero of the EFL who spent more than two decades in the game – scoring more than 200 goals and making appearances for 14 different Clubs - Akinfenwa hung up his boots following the conclusion of the 2021/22 season.
🏆 The 2023 recipient of The Sir Tom Finney Award is @daRealAkinfenwa! 👏
— EFL (@EFL) April 23, 2023
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"It’s humbling," he said, upon accepting the accolade. "My brother got me here on false pretenses - I thought I was giving out an award!
"I am not normally stuck for words. Gareth Ainsworth knows how much he means to me; he is more than just a manager. The stars couldn't have aligned any better for him to come and give me my award.
"To be able to achieve a dream that you have as a five-year old and to play the game for 22 years, it's decent. I am very unapologetically myself and I've done it my way.
"I signed for a Club in Wycombe that were always punching above their weight and getting promoted to the Championship at the age of 38 was the pinnacle."
His longest stint was playing up front for Wycombe Wanderers – helping them gain promotion from Sky Bet League Two up to the Sky Bet Championship and becoming the Club’s record EFL goalscorer along the way, and Akinfenwa was honoured by former Chairboys boss Gareth Ainsworth on the night.
He was once famously the strongest player on EA Sports’ ‘Fifa’ and in October released an Amazon Prime documentary about his incredible career called ‘Beast Mode On’.
