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FIFA THE BEST

Osimhen shortlisted for FIFA The Best, the second of projected three nominations

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11 months ago

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Trail-blazing Victor Osimhen has become the first Nigeria male footballer to be shortlisted for he Best FIFA Men’s Player Award. It is the second time within few days that he has been put on the shortlist of major football award.

Recently, he was in the shortlist for the Balon d’Or and he will be an obvious nominee for the African Footballer of the Year.

Also on the shortlist are the usual suspects – Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.  Spain’s Aitana Bonmati is among the nominees for the Best Women’s Player on the back of winning the Golden Ball at the World Cup.

Half of the dozen nominees in the men’s category were part of Manchester City’s 2022-23 treble-winning squad, while City’s Spanish manager Pep Guardiola is nominated for Best Men’s Coach.

 

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Spain’s World Cup win sees four of their players among the 16 nominees for the women’s award. World Cup runners-up England have four players on the list, with Sarina Wiegman up for the women’s coaching award, while Australia have three players.

World Cup winners Messi of Argentina and Spain’s Alexia Putellas are the current holders of the top player awards.

The nominees were shortlisted by a panel of soccer experts that included retired players Mia Hamm and Didier Drogba

Voting for the eighth annual awards opened on Thursday on FIFA.com and closes in mid-October. National team coaches, captains, journalists and fans make up the list of voters.

 FIFA Men’s Player Nominees

 

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  • Julián Álvarez(Argentina / Manchester City FC)
  • Marcelo Brozović(Croatia / FC Internazionale Milano /Al Nassr FC);
  • Kevin De Bruyne(Belgium / Manchester City FC);
  • İlkay Gündoğan(Germany / Manchester City FC /FC Barcelona);
  • Erling Haaland(Norway / Manchester City FC);
  • Rodrigo(Rodri)
  • Hernández Cascante(Spain / Manchester City FC);
  • Khvicha Kvaratskhelia(Georgia / SSC Napoli);
  • Kylian Mbappé(France / Paris Saint-Germain);
  • Lionel Messi(Argentina / Paris Saint-Germain /Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami);
  • Victor Osimhen(Nigeria / SSC Napoli);
  • Declan Rice(England / West Ham United FC /Arsenal FC);
  • Bernardo Silva(Portugal / Manchester City FC)

The Best FIFA Women’s Player Nominees

  • AitanaBonmatí (Spain / FC Barcelona)
  • Linda Caicedo(Colombia / Real Madrid CF)
  • Rachel Daly(England / Aston Villa Ladies FC)
  • Kadidiatou Diani(France / Olympique Lyonnais / Paris Saint-Germain prior to Aug 2023);
  • Caitlin Foord(Australia / Arsenal WFC);
  • Mary Fowler (Australia / Manchester City WFC);
  • Alex Greenwood(England / Manchester City WFC);
  • Jennifer Hermoso(Spain / CF Pachuca Femenil);
  • Lindsey Horan(USA / Olympique Lyonnais);
  • Amanda Ilestedt(Sweden / Arsenal WFC / Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) prior to June 2023);
  • Lauren James(England / Chelsea FC);
  • Sam Kerr(Australia / Chelsea FC);
  • Mapi León(Spain / FC Barcelona);
  • Hinata Miyazawa(Japan / Mynavi Sendai);
  • Salma Paralluelo(Spain / FC Barcelona);
  • Keira Walsh(England / FC Barcelona).

The Best FIFA Women’s Coach Nominees

  • Peter Gerhardsson(Sweden):
  • Jonatan Giráldez(Spain / FC Barcelona);
  • Tony Gustavsson (Sweden / Australia)
  • Emma Hayes(England / Chelsea FC);
  • Sarina Wiegman (Netherlands / England).

The Best FIFA Men’s Coach Nominees

  • Pep Guardiola(Spain / Manchester City FC);
  • Simone Inzaghi(Italy/ FC Internazionale Milano);
  • Ange Postecoglou (Australia / Celtic FC /Tottenham Hotspur);
  • Luciano Spalletti (Italy /SSC Napoli);
  • Xavi (Spain / FC Barcelona).

The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper  Nominees

  • Mackenzie Arnold (Australia / West Ham United FC);
  • Ann-Katrin Berger(Germany / Chelsea FC);
  • Catalina Coll (Spain / FC Barcelona);
  • Mary Earps(England / Manchester United);
  • Christiane Endler (Chile / Olympique Lyonnais);
  • Zećira Mušović (Sweden / Chelsea FC);
  • Sandra Paños García-Villamil (Spain / FC Barcelona).

The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper  Nominees

  • Yassine Bounou (Morocco / Sevilla FC);
  • Thibaut Courtois(Belgium / Real Madrid CF);
  • Ederson(Brazil / Manchester City FC);
  • André Onana(Cameroon / FC Internazionale Milano /Manchester United FC);
  • Marc-André ter Stegen(Germany / FC Barcelona).

The FIFA Fan Award Nominees

  • Club Atlético Colón de Santa Fe fan(Argentina);
  • Fran Hurndall(England);
  • Miguel Ángel,Millonarios fan (Colombia).

 

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Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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FIFA THE BEST

Serial Winner, Messi Named FIFA Player Of 2023, Spain’s Bonmati Wins Women’s Award –

Published

6 months ago

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January 15, 2024

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Serial Winner, Messi Named FIFA Player Of 2023, Spain's Bonmati Wins Women's Award -

Argentine Lionel Messi retained the FIFA men’s player of the year trophy on Monday, beating Manchester City’s treble-winning Norwegian striker Erling Haaland and France’s Paris St Germain forward Kylian Mbappe to the award.

Spain’s 2023 World Cup winner Aitana Bonmati was voted the best women’s player of the year.

Messi, who also secured the men’s award in 2022 after guiding Argentina to World Cup victory, clinched the Ligue 1 title with PSG alongside Mbappe following that success, before moving to Major League Soccer team Inter Miami.

The 36-year-old, voted the best player by national teams coaches, captains, journalists and fans, helped Inter Miami win the 2023 Leagues Cup — a competition between MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX sides — scoring 10 goals.

Messi was not present to collect the trophy.

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The award period for the men’s prize ran from Dec. 19, 2022 to Aug. 20, 2023, and started the day after the World Cup final in Qatar.

Haaland, who helped City clinch a treble of Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League titles by scoring 52 goals in 53 matches across all competitions in the 2022-23 season, finished second in the voting.

The 23-year-old had the same points as Messi but lost out by having fewer first-place votes from national team captains.

City’s Pep Guardiola won the Best Men’s Coach award. The Spaniard, who before winning the treble with City last term had achieved the same feat at Barcelona in 2008-09, dedicated his award to fellow nominees Simone Inzaghi and Luciano Spalletti.

Inzaghi guided Inter Milan to the 2023 Champions League final, where they lost 1-0 to City, while Spalletti won Serie A with Napoli to end the club’s 33-year wait for the title.

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Sarina Wiegman claimed the Best Women’s coach prize after leading England to the World Cup final where they lost 1-0 to Spain.

Seven of her Lionesses were included in the Women’s World XI, including Mary Earps, who also took the Best Women’s Goalkeeper Award.

Brazil’s Manchester City keeper Ederson won the men’s award.

-Reuters

 

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FIFA THE BEST

Serial winner, Messi named FIFA player of 2023, Spain’s Bonmati wins women’s award –

Published

6 months ago

on

January 15, 2024

By

Serial Winner, Messi Named FIFA Player Of 2023, Spain's Bonmati Wins Women's Award -

Argentine Lionel Messi retained the FIFA men’s player of the year trophy on Monday, beating Manchester City’s treble-winning Norwegian striker Erling Haaland and France’s Paris St Germain forward Kylian Mbappe to the award.

Spain’s 2023 World Cup winner Aitana Bonmati was voted the best women’s player of the year.

Messi, who also secured the men’s award in 2022 after guiding Argentina to World Cup victory, clinched the Ligue 1 title with PSG alongside Mbappe following that success, before moving to Major League Soccer team Inter Miami.

The 36-year-old, voted the best player by national teams coaches, captains, journalists and fans, helped Inter Miami win the 2023 Leagues Cup — a competition between MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX sides — scoring 10 goals.

Messi was not present to collect the trophy.

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The award period for the men’s prize ran from Dec. 19, 2022 to Aug. 20, 2023, and started the day after the World Cup final in Qatar.

Haaland, who helped City clinch a treble of Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League titles by scoring 52 goals in 53 matches across all competitions in the 2022-23 season, finished second in the voting.

The 23-year-old had the same points as Messi but lost out by having fewer first-place votes from national team captains.

City’s Pep Guardiola won the Best Men’s Coach award. The Spaniard, who before winning the treble with City last term had achieved the same feat at Barcelona in 2008-09, dedicated his award to fellow nominees Simone Inzaghi and Luciano Spalletti.

Inzaghi guided Inter Milan to the 2023 Champions League final, where they lost 1-0 to City, while Spalletti won Serie A with Napoli to end the club’s 33-year wait for the title.

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Sarina Wiegman claimed the Best Women’s coach prize after leading England to the World Cup final where they lost 1-0 to Spain.

Seven of her Lionesses were included in the Women’s World XI, including Mary Earps, who also took the Best Women’s Goalkeeper Award.

Brazil’s Manchester City keeper Ederson won the men’s award.

-Reuters

 

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Stage Set For FIFA Best Awards Tonight –

Published

6 months ago

on

January 15, 2024

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Stage Set For FIFA Best Awards Tonight -

As the Africa’s premier sports event, the Africa Cup of Nations gets into its third matchday in Cote d’Ivoire, the City of London will be hosting the 2023 FIFA best Awards.

The prizes will be for best men’s player and best women’s player from last season. It is the equivalent of France Football’s Ballon d’Or. Last year,

Argentina’s mercurial footballer, Lionel Messi was the main winner as he was the hero of Argentina’s World Cup win in the previous year. Again, he is among the top three tonight, contesting with his former club mate at PSG, Kylian Mbappe and Manchester City in-form striker, Erling Haaland.

Barcelona and Spain star Alexia Putellas won best women’s player. But it is Spain’s Women’s World Cup winner, Aitana Bonmati who is highly favoured to win the  women’s prize.

It will be all Spanish stars on the podium as the two other shortlists are Barcelona’s Jenni Hermoso and  Real Madrid’s Linda Caicedo.

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The period in which achievements are considered for the men’s awards is from 19 December 2022 to 20 August 2023 – so excluding the 2022 World Cup – while for women’s awards it is the period from from 1 August 2022 to 20 August 2023.

Other awards to be handed out at the London ceremony will be, best men’s and women’s goalkeeper, best men’s and women’s coach, the Puskas Award for best goal, the Fifa fair play award, and the Fifa fan award.

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