Sir Kenny Dalglish and Karen Carney receive 2026 PFA Merit Awards

Sir Kenny Dalglish and Karen Carney have been named as the Professional Footballers' Association's Merit Award recipients for 2026. BBC Sport reported that the honour recognises individuals who have made a lasting contribution to football. The pair are due to be recognised at the PFA Awards ceremony in Manchester on Tuesday evening, when the men's and women's players' player of the year awards will also be announced.

Dalglish's recognition follows a career spanning major achievements for club and country. He won 102 caps for Scotland, a men's national-team record, and scored 30 international goals, matching Denis Law's Scotland record. After beginning his senior career with Celtic, Dalglish joined Liverpool for a British-record fee in 1977 and became a central figure in one of the club's most successful periods.

Across 515 Liverpool appearances, Dalglish won eight First Division titles and three European Cups. He finished runner-up for the Ballon d'Or in 1983, then became Liverpool's player-manager in 1985. In that role he guided the team to three league championships and two FA Cups, including the league-and-cup Double in 1985-86, before ending his playing career in 1990.

Dalglish later led Blackburn Rovers to the Premier League title in 1995 and also managed Newcastle United, Celtic and Liverpool for a second spell, winning the League Cup in 2012. Away from competition, he supported bereaved families after the 1989 Hillsborough disaster and has raised millions of pounds for cancer care and treatment through the Marina Dalglish Appeal, established in 2005 after his wife's breast-cancer treatment. Dalglish, 75, announced in June that he was receiving cancer treatment.

Carney's club career included an historic quadruple with Arsenal in 2006-07, when the team won the league, FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Women's Cup. After two seasons with Chicago Red Stars, she returned to Birmingham City and scored an extra-time equaliser in their FA Cup final victory the following season. She joined Chelsea late in 2015 and won the Women's Super League and FA Cup double in 2017-18.

The former attacking midfielder made her England debut at 17 in 2005 and finished with 32 goals in 144 appearances. She played at eight major tournaments for England, helped the Lionesses take third place at the 2015 Women's World Cup and represented Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics. Since retiring in 2019, Carney, 39, has worked as a broadcaster and analyst. She also chaired the UK government's independent review into domestic women's football, which was published in 2023.