News

Nominees for The Best FIFA Football Awards 2023 revealed

Less than a month after the final whistle blew at the ninth FIFA Women’s World Cup™ final, the nominations have been announced for the eighth edition of The Best FIFA Football Awards™.

The nominees were shortlisted by a panel of football experts who reviewed longer lists compiled by FIFA based on the candidates’ achievements during the respective award eligibility periods (see below). Voting is now open across the various categories, with the international jury being comprised of national team captains and coaches, journalists, and fans from all over the world.

Performances at the record-breaking FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™ are reflected in The Best FIFA Women’s Player nominees. Adidas Golden Ball winner Aitana Bonmatí leads a quartet of Spanish nominees. Four players from tournament runners-up England and a trio of Matildas – who were a victory away from reaching the final on home soil – are also part of a 16-player shortlist.

Half of the candidates for The Best FIFA Men’s Player were part of Manchester City FC’s 2022-23 treble-winning squad, while coach Pep Guardiola, is nominated for The Best FIFA Men’s Coach alongside four of his peers. Meanwhile, the 2021 and 2022 winners of The Best FIFA Women’s Coach – Emma Hayes and Sarina Wiegman – feature among the quintet nominated in this category.

The FIFA Puskás Award is guaranteed to generate hundreds of thousands of votes each year, with the prize recognising the player ‘judged to have scored the most aesthetically significant goal, regardless of championship, gender or nationality and scored without the result of luck or a mistake and in support of fair play.’ The nominees will be announced on 21 September.

The winners of The Best FIFA Women’s Player, The Best FIFA Women’s Coach and The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper will be selected by an international jury comprising the current coaches of all women’s national teams (one per team), the current captains of all women’s national teams (one per team), one specialist journalist from each territory represented by a national team and fans from all over the world registered on FIFA.com.

The winners of The Best FIFA Men’s Player, The Best FIFA Men’s Coach and The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper will be selected by an international jury comprising the current coaches of all men’s national teams (one per team), the current captains of all men’s national teams (one per team), one specialist journalist from each territory represented by a national team and fans from all over the world registered on FIFA.com.

The Best FIFA Women’s Player Nominees

Aitana Bonmatí (Spain); Linda Caicedo (Colombia); Rachel Daly (England); Kadidiatou Diani (France); Caitlin Foord (Australia); Mary Fowler (Australia); Alex Greenwood (England); Jennifer Hermoso (Spain); Lindsey Horan (USA); Amanda Ilestedt (Sweden); Lauren James (England); Sam Kerr (Australia); Mapi León (Spain); Hinata Miyazawa (Japan); Salma Paralluelo (Spain); Keira Walsh (England).

The Best FIFA Men’s Player Nominees

Julián Álvarez (Argentina); Marcelo Brozović (Croatia); Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium); İlkay Gündoğan (Germany); Erling Haaland (Norway); Rodrigo (Rodri) Hernández Cascante (Spain); Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Georgia); Kylian Mbappé (France); Lionel Messi (Argentina); Victor Osimhen (Nigeria); Declan Rice (England); Bernardo Silva (Portugal).

The Best FIFA Women’s Coach Nominees

Peter Gerhardsson (Sweden): Jonatan Giráldez (Spain); Tony Gustavsson (Sweden); Emma Hayes (England); Sarina Wiegman (Netherlands).

The Best FIFA Men’s Coach Nominees

Pep Guardiola (Spain); Simone Inzaghi (Italy); Ange Postecoglou (Australia); Luciano Spalletti (Italy); Xavi (Spain).

The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper Nominees

Mackenzie Arnold (Australia); Ann-Katrin Berger (Germany); Catalina Coll (Spain); Mary Earps (England); Christiane Endler (Chile); Zećira Mušović (Sweden); Sandra Paños García-Villamil (Spain).

The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper Nominees

Yassine Bounou (Morocco); Thibaut Courtois (Belgium); Ederson (Brazil); André Onana (Cameroon); Marc-André ter Stegen (Germany).

The FIFA Fan Award Nominees

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

Award Qualifying Periods

The qualifying period for the women’s awards – The Best FIFA Women’s Player, The Best FIFA Women’s Coach and The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper – was from 1 August 2022 to 20 August 2023, the date of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Final.

For the men’s awards – The Best FIFA Men’s Player, The Best FIFA Men’s Coach and The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper – the qualifying period was between 19 December 2022 to 20 August 2023.

When does voting open?

Fan voting in all the above categories will commence on FIFA’s digital platforms on Thursday 14 September when the respective shortlisted nominees are announced, along with the candidates for The FIFA Fan Award. Voting will close at midnight CET on Friday 6 October.

Voting for the FIFA Puskás Award, which will be presented to the scorer of the best goal during the period from 19 December 2022 to 20 August 2023 inclusive, will commence on Thursday 21 September and close at midnight CET on Tuesday 10 October

News

King Ademola Lookman Brings Out His Love

Like his father opened up, Ademola Lookman is essentially a private person, who prefers to do his stuff without all the media blitz.

But on one of his biggest days, when he was crowned Africa’s best player, he could not but make the first public appearance with the woman in his life – Jayda Love.

‘Adebobo’ would even steal a moment on his big night to kiss his American beau.

The 27-year-old Super Eagles star is still single.

Rumours of this romance first surfaced in the summer when the couple appeared to have spent the holidays together.

This was after ‘Mola’ scored his unforgettable hat-trick for Atalanta to win the UEFA Europa League in super style.

Jayda, an Information Technology specialist is based in Dallas, Texas, graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2021 with a degree in public relations.

She follows Ademola Lookman and his foundation on social media.

She is also known to have visited him at his Italian base.

News

FIFA Rankings: Nigeria’s Super Eagles End 2024 Ahead Of Ghana, South Africa, Cameroon

Nigeria’s Super Eagles have ended 2024 ranked as Africa’s fifth-best team in FIFA’s latest global standings, released Thursday morning, Soccernet.ng reports.

Despite a challenging end to the year that saw the team drop eight places to 44th globally, the Super Eagles still managed to hold their own against eternal continental rivals like South Africa, Cameroon, and Ghana.

This year’s ranking represents a mixed bag for Nigeria. While the team retained its fifth spot in Africa, their decline in global rankings was driven by underwhelming performances in key fixtures.

Most notably, the Super Eagles struggled during the final rounds of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers, securing just a solitary point in lackluster outings against the Benin Republic and Rwanda.

Nigeria were forced to a scored draw by the Cheetahs in Abidjan only for Samuel Chukwueze’s excellent strike to end up as consolation in a 2-1 home defeat to the Wasps.

Looking at year-to-year standings, at this time in 2023, Nigeria’s Super Eagles were ranked 42nd in the world but sixth on the continent.

Elsewhere, South Africa’s Bafana Bafana showed marked improvement, climbing th

Cameroon and Ghana, however, endured disappointing campaigns. Ghana’s Black Stars finished the year ranked 77th, a stark reminder of the ongoing struggles within the Black Stars setup.

At the continental summit, Morocco retained their status as the continent’s best, finishing as Africa’s top-ranked team in 14th place globally.

Senegal (17th), Egypt (33rd), and Algeria (37th) rounded out the top four, with Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Mali, Tunisia, and South Africa completing the top 10.

Globally, Argentina retained their position as FIFA’s top-ranked team, followed by France, Spain, England, and Brazil.

With 1,181 international matches played across the calendar year, the rankings reflected consistent dominance from the world’s elite teams.

As Nigeria enter 2025, all eyes will be on the Super Eagles to reignite their competitive spark, with the World Cup qualifiers returning in the first quarter of the year.

News

Mbappé: Would Have Been ‘Fun’ To Play With Cristiano Ronaldo

Kylian Mbappé has said he wishes he could have played with Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo, the club’s all-time leading scorer.

The France international has been a teammate of other football icons but would have relished playing alongside Ronaldo, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner and Portugal captain.

“I’ve played with great players: Lionel Messi, Neymar, [Antoine] Griezmann, [Paul] Pogba, [Karim] Benzema…” Mbappé told BeINsports.

“It would have been fun to play with Cristiano Ronaldo — it’s going to be very difficult now — but I was lucky enough to play against him, a legend of the sport.”

Ronaldo, 39, left the Spanish giants in 2018 now plays for Saudi Pro-League side Al Nassr.

Mbappé helped Madrid win the Intercontinental Cup on Wednesday, his second title since joining the Spanish giants in the summer after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expired.

Speaking to young people with disabilities as part of the BeUNITED program, Mbappe, 25, said he would have never left Paris Saint-Germain had it not been to join Madrid.

“I went to the biggest club in the world,” the 2018 World Cup winner said.

“I have always said that it was the only club I would have left PSG for. If I hadn’t been able to go to Madrid, I would have stayed at PSG all my life.”

Although Mbappé has been prolific for Madrid so far, he has faced criticism for his all-round performances with the team having suffered some high-profile defeats earlier in the season.

“Since I was 14, everyone told me I was going to be great,” Mbappé said.

“But when you’re big, sometimes you feel small…At first I was too hungry and it played tricks on me because I was impatient. But I have passion and this competitive side.

“My dream now is to win trophies with my team, not individual awards. What great title is left for me? The Champions League, but I’m in the best club in the world for that.”