• 24-year-old former Reading player picks up inaugural award • ‘To be the first recipient of this honour and award is so special’

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Fran Kirby has won the inaugural women’s footballer of the year award from the Football Writers’ Association.

The Chelsea and England striker has scored 22 goals for the Women’s Super League leaders across all competitions this season.

The 24-year-old former Reading player secured more than 50% of the vote, with the Euro 2017 Golden Boot winner, Jodie Taylor, finishing second.

Kirby told the FWA website: “I was really proud to be nominated in the first place but to actually win is a real honour. To be the first recipient of this honour and award is so special.”

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Kirby, who was nicknamed “Mini Messi” by the former England Women manager Mark Sampson during the 2015 World Cup in Canada, has established herself as a key figure in the national team under Phil Neville.

The accolade came two days after Kirby won the Professional Footballers’ Association’s women’s player of the year award.

As well as their WSL title pursuit, Chelsea are chasing silverware in the Women’s FA Cup and face Arsenal in the final on 5 May.

They will also be hoping to turn around a 3-1 deficit when they play Wolfsburg in Germany on Sunday in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final.

The FWA chairman, Patrick Barclay, said: “I can’t help thinking of our first footballer of the year vote in 1947, when the winner was one of England’s most admired players of all time, Sir Stanley Matthews.

“Now, after Stan, comes Fran – she’ll always be first in what will become a long list of women’s footballers of the year.”

Kirby will collect the award at the FWA dinner in London on 10 May.