The game’s most prestigious individual award will take on a new, modern look in 2016. The name should reflect the organization’s mission to bring football to the forefront. They call this award The Best FIFA Men’s Player.
To reach out to the soccer world directly, the idea is to connect with them directly. Those who love the game speak the informal language of those who consider a player, a coach, or a goal “the best.”
This is the sign under which the Best FIFA Football Awards were born. A celebration by, for, and about the most critical people involved in the football scene – players, coaches, and fans. Making decisions is their responsibility.
The History Behind The Best FIFA Men’s Player Award
In 1990, FIFA created its own annual ceremony to honor the best player in the world after the World Cup was held in Italy. There are nine awards haded out at the yearly ceremony; FIFA Puskas Award, Best FIFA Men’s Coach, Best FIFA Player (Men), Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper, Best FIFA Women’s Coach, Best FIFA Player (Women), Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper, FIFA Fair Play Award, and FIFA Fan Award.
FIFA’s Best FIFA Men’s Player award has been given to the world’s best men’s player since 2016 by the sport’s governing body. A six-year partnership merged the FIFA World Player of the Year award with France Football’s Ballon d’Or in 2010 to create the FIFA Ballon d’Or.
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In exchange for combining two major player awards with France Football, FIFA paid £13million to preside over the FIFA Ballon d’Or. In their ongoing rivalry, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo dominated the six editions of the FIFA Ballon d’Or.
Ballon d’Or votes would no longer be influenced by FIFA and would instead be voted on by journalists in 2016, while FIFA World Player of the Year – which was first presented in 1991 – has been revived, becoming The Best FIFA Men’s Player.
Voting And Criteria
Sports performance and general conduct on and off the soccer field are the selection criteria for the best football player in the world. All men’s national teams coaches and team captains worldwide vote for the Best FIFA Men’s Player award.
Fifty percent of the votes will come from an online public ballot and the submissions of over 200 media representatives from six continents.
“The Best FIFA Football Awards celebrate those who love the sport, including the new FIFA Fan Award, which acknowledges outstanding moments involving fans. Keeping in touch with soccer fans is important to us. It’s essential.” According to FIFA’s Deputy Secretary General Zvonimir Boban, “the game wouldn’t exist without them.”
The Trophy
A ball adorns the trophy’s pinnacle, which stands at 310mm and weighs 6.4kg. This is perhaps its most striking feature, fitting to FIFA’s original tournament. Designed by Croatian artist Ana Barbić Katičić, The Best FIFA Men’s Player trophy comprises of five parts: the bottom, the base, the carbon piece covering the base, the body, and the soccer ball.
In an interview with The History Of Soccer Team, FIFA’s Deputy Secretary General of Football Zvonimir Boban said, “The ball on top represents both football and FIFA’s history.” The story is beautiful and respects football traditions while maintaining its modern look. This makes the trophy a purely postmodern trophy.”
The Best FIFA Men’s Player Winners
Here is a list of the world soccer’s most prestigious award winners.
- 2016: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
- 2017: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
- 2018: Luka Modrić (Real Madrid)
- 2019: Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
- 2020: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
- 2021: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
- Best FIFA Men’s Player 2022: ??
The most successful player in its short history is Cristiano Ronaldo, who has won The Best FIFA Men’s Player award twice and finished second two times (2018, 2020) and third once (2019). On the other hand, Leo Messi has won the award only once but has been runners-up three times (2016, 2017, 2021).
Live TV & On Demand Soccer Streaming
- Watch Premier League And Euro Leagues
- On Any Device. Anytime. Anywhere
- Stream Live, Rewind Or Replay
- No Contracts, No Long Term Commitments
With the World Cup being played in November and December, The 2022 best footballer in the world nominees/shortlist will be announced after the World Cup final. The Best awards ceremony will take place on February 27, 2023.
Located in Zurich, Switzerland, FIFA’s headquarters host these award ceremonies. YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter will also stream The Best awards 2022, along with the FIFA website.
Why Goalkeepers And Defenders Don’t Win
Is FIFA undervaluing the skill and art of ‘not’ scoring goals?
In fact, since the award for the world’s best player began back in 1956, only four defensive players have won it – Franz Beckenbauer, Matthias Sammer, Lev Yashin (the only goalkeeper), and Fabio Cannavaro, who had to captain Italy to an unlikely World Cup win to be recognized.
Against this historical bias, it was a big surprise to see Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer joining Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo on the three-person shortlist in 2015.
Was this finally a sign that FIFA recognizes the art of goal-stopping? Or is he just a token nod, the exception that proves the rule?
The question that the Ballon d’Or and The Best FIFA Men’s Player award bring up is whether all of us – the people who watch, report on, and even run football – are guilty of completely undervaluing the defensive side of the game.
Are we so enamored – obsessed even – by attack and goals that we ignore the importance of its counterbalance?
The short answer is yes. The goal, after all, is why we watch in the first place and the relative rarity of its occurrence in a football match is what makes it different from the higher-scoring team sports like basketball and rugby.
The whole framework of how we watch football supports this. The sport can almost be split into the good guys, the artists – those trying to create, score, and win – and the defenders, those trying to negate, block, and not lose.
We remember goals, moves, flicks, and finishes. Rarely do we look back misty-eyed at a defensive hoof that may or may not have prevented a goal. It’s why substantial transfer fees are paid for goalscorers, and creators and clubs sell fewer shirts for their full-backs than its center-forwards.
So why does everyone in football overlook this? Part of it is simple psychology. “Attacking has one best outcome: a goal. But defending is quite the opposite: the best outcome is a goal that is not conceded, an event that does not actually happen.”
It explains why the human brain prefers the immediate pleasure of a goal to a vaguely defined non-negative. It’s hard to stand up and cheer and shout for a non-event. The more fundamental argument is that those who analyze and assess football need help understanding defense.
We strongly suspect that goalkeepers and defenders are less likely to become managers of the world’s top clubs simply because the defense is neither well-understood nor highly valued.
Despite the amount of money, analysis, and coverage in football, everyone involved is still swayed like dizzy fans by the power of the goal. Forwards are loved, and defenders are respected. Unfortunately, there’s little here to make us think that will change anytime soon.
Biased By Culture
The Best FIFA Men’s Player award is influenced by the cultural similarity between voters and players, according to a new 2022 analysis of voting data.
The researchers evaluated voting data from 2010 through 2016. They examined the similarity between voters and players with ethnicity, language, religion, geographical proximity, social network, and social norms.
Analysis of the voting data suggested that all three cultural similarity measures influence voting for the best soccer player in the world.
