SOCCER
The awards will be presented at a gala dinner in Doha, Qatar, where Real Madrid will play in the Intercontinental final
Published on December 16, 2024 at 2:25 pm
Vini Jr. in action for Real Madrid Credit: Real Madrid/Disclosure
The winners of The Best award will be announced by FIFA this Tuesday (17), at a gala dinner at the Aspire Academy, Doha, Qatar. The entity revealed, this Monday (16), details about the ceremony, which will have the winners of the nine categories announced digitally. The event will be broadcast live on FIFA.com.
Vini Jr. is considered the favorite to win the trophy for best player in the world. The Brazilian competes with ten other candidates, including Rodri, from Manchester City, winner of the Ballon d’Or in a choice marked by controversy. Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Haaland (Manchester City) and Bellingham (Real Madrid) are other highlights among the nominees. The event will take place on the eve of the Intercontinental Cup final, which will be played by Real Madrid and Pachuca on Wednesday (18), also in Doha.
In addition to Vinicius, Brazil is represented in other categories at the ceremony. Ederson is competing for best goalkeeper, while coach Arthur Elias is nominated for best women’s football coach.
Marta is now in the running for the first edition of the Marta Award, which is named in honor of the player herself. The trophy is exclusive to the most beautiful goal in women’s football – the Puskás, in turn, now belongs only to men’s football. The Queen scored a goal in the Seleção’s 4-0 victory over Jamaica in June.
During the event, the team of the year will also be formed, which has, among those nominated for men, six national representatives: Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior, among the attackers, Dante, Bremer and Gabriel Magalhães, among the defenders, and goalkeeper Ederson.
Four athletes who stood out with their performances in Brazil are also competing: Germán Cano, Ganso and Nino, 2023 Libertadores champions with Fluminense, and Thiago Almada, 2024 Libertadores champion with Botafogo. It is worth mentioning that the FIFA awards take into account activities during the European season – that is, between June 2023 and May 2024. Therefore, Fluminense players, who shone last year, appear in the list.
There is also a Brazilian nominated for the FIFA Fan Award, which awards the fan of the year: young Guilherme Gandra Moura, a child Vasco fan. At the age of 10, Gui is fighting against epidermolysis bullosa, a rare disease that causes wounds on the skin and brings with it a series of side issues, including growth.
The boy became known throughout the country in June last year, when he woke up from a coma after 16 days. At the time, he went viral on social media when he reunited with his mother in the hospital. He became a symbolic fan of Vasco and has even become a mosaic of the fans.
The best player nominees at The Best 2024:
- Dani Carvajal (Spain), Real Madrid
- Erling Haaland (Norway), Manchester City
- Federico Valverde (Uruguay), Real Madrid
- Florian Wirtz (Germany), Bayer Leverkusen
- Jude Bellingham (Inglaterra), Real Madrid
- Kylian Mbappé (French), PSG/Real Madrid
- Lamine Yamal (Spain), Barcelona
- Lionel Messi (Argentina), Inter Miami
- Rodri (Spain), Manchester City
- Toni Kroos (Germany), Real Madrid (retired)
- Vinícius Jr. (Brazil), Real Madrid
Best player nominees:
- Aitana Bonmati (Spain), Barcelona
- Barbra Banda (Zambia), Shanghai Shengli/Orlando Pride
- Caroline Graham Hansen (Norway), Barcelona
- Keira Walsh (England), Barcelona
- Khadija Shaw (Jamaica), Manchester City
- Lauren Hemp (Inglaterra), Manchester City
- Lindsey Horan (United States), Lyon
- Lucy Bronze (England), Barcelona/Chelsea
- Mallory Swanson (United States), Chicago Red Stars
- Mariona Caldentey (Spain), Barcelona/Arsenal
- Naomi Girma (United States), San Diego Wave
- Ona Batlle (Spain), Barcelona
- Salma Paralluelo (Spain), Barcelona
- Sophia Smith (United States), Portland Thorns
- Tabitha Chawinga (Maláui), PSG/Lyon
- Trinity Rodman (United States), Washington Spirit
The nominees for best female football coach:
- Arthur Elias (Brazil), Brazil
- Elena Sadiku (Sweden), Celtic
- Emma Hayes (England), Chelsea/United States national team
- Futoshi Ikeda (Japan), Japan national team
- Gareth Taylor (Inglaterra), Manchester City
- Jonatan Giraldez (Spain), Barcelona/Washington Spirit
- Sandrine Soubeyrand (France), Paris FC
- Sonia Bompastor (France), Lyon/Chelsea
The nominees for best men’s football coach:
- Carlo Ancelotti (Italy), Real Madrid
- Lionel Scaloni (Argentina), Argentina national team
- Luis de la Fuente (Spain), Spain national team
- Pep Guardiola (Spain), Manchester City
- Xabi Alonso (Spain), Bayer Leverkusen
Best goalkeeper nominees:
- Alyssa Naeher (United States), Chicago Red Stars
- Ann-Katrin Berger (Germany), Chelsea/NJ/NY Gotham
- Ayaka Yamashita (Japan), INAC Kobe Leonessa/Manchester City
- Cata Coll (Barcelona), Barcelona
- Mary Earps (Inglaterra), Manchester United/PSG
Best goalkeeper nominees:
- Andriy Lunin (Ukraine), Real Madrid
- David Raya (Spain), Arsenal
- Éderson (Brazil), Manchester City
- Emiliano Martínez (Argentina), Aston Villa
- Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy), PSG
- Mike Maignan (France), Milan
- Unai Simon (Espanha), Athletic Bilbao
