New Delhi: FIFA have announced their nominees for the Beat FIFA Football Awards 2024. The award is a celebration of top performers for both club and national team levels in men’s and women’s football. The ninth edition of the award is now open for the fans to vote.
This year gives fans an opportunity to vote for both The Beat FIFA’s Men’s 11 and Women’s 11. A new category introduced is the FIFA Marta Award, which will recognise the best goal scored in women’s football. Rules for the FIFA Puskas Award have been changed slightly as well.
It will now be awarded to the scorer of the best goal in men’s football and won’t be based on nationality or the championship. These two awards will be decided by the voting of fans and a FIFA jury that includes current captains and coaches of the women’s and men’s national teams and the media representatives. Fans can choose from 77 nominated players, including 11 goalkeepers, 22 midfielders, and 22 forwards, and place them in preset tactical formations.
The previous season’s winner of FIFA Men’s Player, Lionel Messi, was the only player from outside Europe to be on the list of nominees. Manchester City’s Rodri and Erling Haaland were the only players from the Premier League to be included in the list, having been integral parts of their side’s four consecutive Premier League title wins.
Rodri is the leading contender for the award, having won the Ballon d’Or in October. In the competition, Vinicius Junior had given strong competition to the Spanish player for the Ballon d’Or and will be amongst the favourites to win the FIFA award. Jude Bellingham had a great last season and will hope that his efforts will make him the first English player to claim the award.
Last year, Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola won the award and is nominated this year again after he lifted the sixth Premier League alongside Real Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti, whose side won both La Liga and the UEFA Champions League. Aside from them, Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso led his team to their first Bundesliga title; Argentina’s Lionel Scaloni, who won the Copa America and Spanish manager Luis de la Fuente for helping Spain lift the UEFA Euro 2024 are also nominated.
For the list of Goalkeeper of the Year award, Arsenal’s David Raya, Real Madrid’s Andriy Lunin, Paris St-Germain’s Gianluigi Donnarumma, Manchester City’s Ederson, Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez, Athletic Bilbao’s Unai Simon and AC Milan’s Mike Maignan have been nominated.
FIFA have revealed the nominees for the awards in different category for the season 2023-24 with subtle changes to existing criteria amidst adding a new award in women’s football. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
