As expected, there was no single Nigerian player, as World Football governing body, FIFA, yesterday, revealed the candidates shortlisted for The Best FIFA Football Awards 2022.
Not even Super Falcons player, Asisat Oshoala, who distinguished herself with FC Barcelona Women’s team could get a mention on the FIFA’s list.
Best FIFA Men’s Player:
Julián Álvarez (Argentina / Club Atlético, River Plate / Manchester City FC), Jude Bellingham (England / BV Borussia 09 Dortmund), Karim Benzema (France / Real Madrid CF), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium / Manchester City FC), Erling Haaland (Norway / BV Borussia 09 Dortmund / Manchester City FC), Achraf Hakimi (Morocco / Paris Saint-Germain FC), Robert Lewandowski (Poland / FC Bayern München / FC Barcelona), Sadio Mané (Senegal / Liverpool FC / FC Bayern München), Kylian Mbappé (France / Paris Saint-Germain FC ), Lionel Messi (Argentina / Paris Saint-Germain FC), Luka Modrić (Croatia / Real Madrid CF), Neymar (Brazil / Paris Saint-Germain FC), Mohamed Salah (Egypt / Liverpool FC) and Vinícius Junior (Brazil / Real Madrid CF).
Best FIFA Women’s Player
Aitana Bonmatí (Spain / FC Barcelona), Debinha (Brazil / North Carolina Courage), Jessie Fleming (Canada / Chelsea FC Women), Ada Hegerberg (Norway /Olympique Lyonnais), Sam Kerr (Australia / Chelsea FC Women), Beth Mead (England / Arsenal WFC),Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands / Arsenal WFC), Alex Morgan (USA / Orlando Pride / San Diego Wave), Lena Oberdorf (Germany / VfL Wolfsburg), Alexandra Popp (Germany / VfL Wolfsburg), Alexia Putellas (Spain / FC Barcelona), Wendie Renard (France / Olympique Lyonnais), Keira Walsh (England / Manchester City WFC / FC Barcelona) and Leah Williamson (England / Arsenal WFC).
Best FIFA Women’s Coach:
Sonia Bompastor (France / Olympique Lyonnais), Emma Hayes (England / Chelsea FC Women), Bev Priestman (England / Canadian National Team),
Pia Sundhage (Sweden / Brazilian National Team), Martina Voss-Tecklenburg (Germany / German National Team) and Sarina Wiegman (Netherlands / English National Team)
Best FIFA Men’s Coach
Carlo Ancelotti (Italy / Real Madrid CF), Didier Deschamps (France / French National Team), Pep Guardiola (Spain / Manchester City FC), Walid Regragui (Morocco / Wydad AC / Moroccan National Team) and Lionel Scaloni (Argentina / Argentinian National
Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper
Ann-Katrin Berger (Germany / Chelsea FC Women), Mary Earps (England / Manchester United WFC), Christiane Endler (Chile / Olympique Lyonnais)
Merle Frohms (Germany / Eintracht Frankfurt / VfL Wolfsburg), Alyssa Naeher (USA / Chicago Red Stars) and Sandra Paños García-Villamil (Spain / FC Barcelona).
Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper
Álisson Becker (Brazil / Liverpool FC), Yassine Bounou (Morocco / Sevilla FC), Thibaut Courtois (Belgium / Real Madrid CF), Ederson (Brazil / Manchester City FC) and Emiliano Martínez (Argentina / Aston Villa FC).
FIFA Puskás Award
Mario Balotelli (Italy): Adana Demirspor v. Göztepe Spor Kulübü [Süper Lig] (22 May 2022), Amandine Henry (France): FC Barcelona v. Olympique Lyonnais [UEFA Women’s Champions League] (21 May 2022), Théo Hernández (France): AC Milan v. Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio, [Serie A] (15 May 2022), Alou Kuol (Australia): Iraq U23 v. Australia U23 [AFC U23 Asian Cup] (4 June 2022), Kylian Mbappé (France): Argentina v. France [FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™] (18 December 2022), Francisco González Metilli (Argentina): Club Atlético Central Córdoba v. Club Atlético Rosario Central [Primera División] (1 August 2022), Marcin Oleksy (Poland): Warta Poznań v. Stal Rzeszów [PZU Amp Futbol Ekstraklasa] (6 November 2022), Salma Paralluelo (Spain): FC Barcelona v. Villarreal CF [Liga F] (2 April 2022), Dimitri Payet (France): Olympique de Marseille v. PAOK Thessaloniki FC [UEFA Europa Conference League] (7 April 2022) Richarlison (Brazil): Brazil v. Serbia [FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022] (24 November 2022), Alessia Russo (England): England v. Sweden [UEFA Women’s EURO 2022] (26 July 2022)
Best FIFA Fan Award
Abdullah Al Salmi (Saudi Arabia): Abdullah journeyed by foot from his hometown of Jeddah to Qatar, hiking across the Saudi Arabian desert, to support his national team at the FIFA World Cup.
Argentinian National Team fans (Argentina): Argentina fans travelled to Qatar in impressive numbers to provide incredible support for their team’s ultimately victorious FIFA World Cup campaign, and millions of fans then welcomed their heroes home to Buenos Aires and across the country.
Japanese National Team fans (Japan): Japan fans earned worldwide recognition for their tradition of staying behind to help clean the stadium after World Cup games.
Two expert panels – one for women’s football and one for men’s football – selected the candidates for the players’, goalkeepers’ and coaches’ categories.
Public voting is open on FIFA+ and will run until 23:59 CET on 3 February 2023.
FIFA will announce the three finalists in each of the seven categories listed above in early February 2023.
The full voting and award process is detailed in the Rules of Allocation.
To keep up with the latest news about The Best FIFA Football Awards 2022, check out FIFA+ and FIFA’s accounts on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
You can join the discussion about who should win the awards by using the hashtag
