Daniel Broadbent has won the Nivea for Men Young Apprentice Award for League 1 at the 2008 Football League Awards incorporating FourFourTwo's Top 50 Football League Players.

The 18-year-old Huddersfield Town striker received the award at a gala dinner at The London Hilton, Park Lane on Sunday 2nd March 2008 in front of over 800 attendees from clubs, sponsors and the football industry.

Broadbent received the League 1 Young Apprentice Award due to the outstanding potential that he has shown in football. He made his debut appearance for the first team in October 2007, as well as taking on the captaincy of the Youth Team. Broadbent joined the academy as an eight-year-old in the summer of 1997 and has played consistently at every age group in the club from the under nine's right through to the first team.

Broadbent has the rare distinction of representing his country in two sports, his success in cricket as well as football earned him the title of the Yorkshire Post Junior Sportsman of the Year award in 2006.

On winning the award, Broadbent commented: "When I found out I was nominated I looked through the other nominees to see how many professional games they had all played because I have only played once and I didn't think I stood much of a chance in comparison. I only found out on the Friday before the match I was selected and didn't really have time to think about it. It was great to play in my first game and you are only nervous about it until the moment you come on, tonight I have been very nervous and even now I still can't yet believe it. I want to establish myself in the first team and play as high as I can. This award is a great reflection on the club and the youth development system that is in place because it is the second year running a player from Huddersfield has won it and I am very proud."

The judging panel for the Apprentice of the Year Award commented "Daniel is a role model to his peers both on and off the pitch, a fantastic lad willing to learn and superbly disciplined."

Commenting on the 2008 Football League Awards, The Football League Chairman, Lord Mawhinney, said: "For the third consecutive year, The Football League Awards has been an enormous success. Once again, it has given us the opportunity to recognise and reward the outstanding contributions made by fans, clubs and players to the continued growth and development of league football."

The number one spot in the FourFourTwo Top 50 Football League Players went to West Bromwich Albion striker, Kevin Phillips, followed by Andy Gray of Charlton and Michael Kightly of Wolverhampton Wanderers. The full list of The Top 50 Football League Players can be found either in the April issue of FourFourTwo which is on sale now, or on the FourFourTwo website www.fourfourtwo.com.

The Football League Awards show will be aired on Sky Sports 1 on Thursday 6th March at 8pm.

To find out more about The Football League Awards please visit www.footballleagueawards.com.

In reaching their decisions, the judges were looking not just at each player's performance on the pitch, but also at his disciplinary record, progress in the club's youth development scheme, and his educational achievements. The education for apprentices is managed by League Football Education - a partnership between the Football League and the PFA - delivering The Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence programme, which is funded by the Learning & Skills Council.