Liverpool and Egypt international winger Mohamed Salah has won the Laureus Sporting Inspiration Award for his advocacy on women’s right.

Salah has been exceptional on the pitch for Liverpool since joining them in the summer of 2017. The 28-year-old became the club’s 12th all-time goalscorer with 123 goals in 198 appearances.

In his four years in Anfield he helped the Reds lift their first major trophies in years after guiding them to the Premier League and UEFA Champions League titles.

However, Salah also became a role model off the pitch thanks to his several touching humanitarian acts, mainly in his home country of Egypt.

Salah spoke out on the issue with stray dogs in Egypt and made several donations to the local hospital in his hometown of Basyun.

One of the topics he is often vocal about is women’s right in Middle Eastern countries and how there needs to be a change in the traditional way of thinking.

“I think we need to change the way we treat women in our culture. It’s not optional,” Salah told TIME Magazine after being named among the 100 most influential figures in 2019.

The Egypt national team captain was also vocal about teammate Amr Warda’s sexual harassment allegations back in 2019, saying ‘Women must be treated with the utmost respect’ and ‘”No” means “no”’. He also said that PAOK forward needed “treatment or rehabilitation” during an interview with CNN.

Due to his advocacy of women’s equality, Laureus Sporting, an American nonprofit organization that supports the growth and deepens the impact of programs that use sport for social change, decided to award him the Sporting Inspiration Award for 2021.

“It was a very difficult year on so many levels and for so many people around the world,” Salah said in his acceptance speech.

“Some of us were kept away from our family and friends, and others even lost loved ones.

“We need to learn from this experience, support one another, and do our best to look ahead.

“Some of us were kept away from our family and friends, and others even lost loved ones.

‘We need to learn from this experience, support one another, and do our best to look ahead,” he added.

Salah’s manager Jurgen Klopp had this to say to congratulate his player: “If I tell you that he’s an even better person than he is a player, then you might be able to imagine what kind of guy he is. Mo to you, congratulations.”

The remainder of the Laureus World Sports Awards saw English Formula 1 driver Sir Lewis Hamilton winning Athlete Advocate of the Year.

Meanwhile, German giants Bayern Munich won Team of the Year after lifting the Champions League and tennis legend Billie Jean King won Lifetime Achievement Award.

Finally, tennis players Rafael Nadal (Spain) and Naomi Osaka (Japan) won Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year.