The Best FIFA Football Awards 2024: Real Madrid players dominate the list of nominees for The Best FIFA Men’s Player, one of several awards to be presented at The Best FIFA Football Awards 2024. Six of the 10 finalists have represented the La Liga giants in the past year: Dani Carvajal, Fede Valverde, Jude Bellingham, Vinícius Júnior, Kylian Mbappé, and the recently retired Toni Kroos.
They are joined by Manchester City duo Erling Haaland and Rodri, Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal, Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi, and Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz. Messi, the winner of last year’s award, is vying for a third consecutive win.
The Best FIFA Football Awards were introduced in 2017 as part of FIFA’s initiative to create its own set of awards, separate from its previous collaboration with France Football for the Ballon d’Or. According to Sportingnews, this partnership ended in 2016, leading FIFA to establish its own prestigious awards recognizing the best players, coaches, and goalkeepers in football.
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While the Ballon d’Or has been awarded since 1956 and holds significant prestige, The Best FIFA Awards are still in the process of gaining the same level of recognition within the football world. The awards celebrate excellence in the sport, with categories for men’s and women’s players, coaches, and goalkeepers, as well as fan and fair play recognitions.
The Best FIFA Women’s Player nominees are heavily dominated by Barcelona and Spain players, with Aitana Bonmatí, Mariona Caldentey (now at Arsenal), Ona Battle, and Salma Paralluelo all making the list. Three more Barça stars, Caroline Graham Hansen, Keira Walsh, and Lucy Bronze (who has since joined Chelsea), are also nominated.
Barcelona’s strong presence at The Best FIFA Football Awards isn’t new in women’s football, as Alexia Putellas won back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022, followed by Bonmatí’s victory last year. However, five USWNT players, Lindsey Horan, Mallory Swanson, Naomi Girma, Sophia Smith, and Trinity Rodman, will be hoping to break through, all in contention for the award.
Awards will also be given for The Best FIFA Men’s Coach, The Best FIFA Women’s Coach, The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper, and The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper.
Among the coaches, Spain’s Euro 2024-winning manager Luis de la Fuente and Carlo Ancelotti, who lifted the Champions League with Real Madrid, are the frontrunners, competing against other finalists Xabi Alonso (Leverkusen), Pep Guardiola (Man City), and Lionel Scaloni (Argentina).
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On the women’s side, Jonatan Giráldez, who won four trophies with Barcelona before moving to Washington Spirit, is among the top contenders, as is USWNT coach Emma Hayes.
There is also strong Spanish representation among the goalkeepers, with Unai Simón and David Raya among the men’s finalists, and Cata Coll up for the women’s prize. The Barça stopper will go up against USWNT veteran Alyssa Naeher.
One soccer supporter will pick up the FIFA Fan Award, while a panel of experts will decide the recipient of the FIFA Fair Play Award. The winners of the new FIFA Marta Award (for best women’s goal) and the FIFA Puskás Award (best men’s goal) will be chosen by fans and a panel of FIFA Legends.
The prize recipients are determined by votes from captains, coaches, journalists, and fans, each of which holds equal weight. Fans were able to choose their winners on FIFA.com, with the voting deadline passing on December 10.
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Fans were able to vote in all categories, with the exception of the FIFA Fair Play Award.
The prize ceremony’s 2024 edition is being held today, Tuesday, December 17, in Doha, Qatar. It is scheduled to begin at 12 noon ET/9 a.m. PT and will be broadcast live on FIFA.com. You’ll also be able to follow AS USA’s live-text coverage of the event.
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