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Afolabi Ezekiel - November 30, 2024
The World players’ union FIFPRO has been requesting professional footballers across the globe to choose the best players in the football game every calendar year, and the number of participants of the voting has exceeded 25,000.
The goalkeeper with the most votes, with the three defenders, three midfielders and three forwards who receives the most votes in the world are chosen for the World 11. The last position on the World 11 is given to the next highest vote winner in the outfield player category who has not been picked.
The award presents the eleven best players in the year or gives the other players, especially mostly defensive players, some honor that they would not have a shot at the prestigious main Ballon d’Or.
The principal modification in this year’s version of The Best FIFA Football Awards is that fans will participate in the selection of The Best FIFA Men’s 11 and The Best FIFA Women’s 11. They will able to select directly picked 77 nominated players – 22 mainly defenders, midfielders, and forwards besides 11 goalkeepers – to put them in the composed formation structure and develop their team with one of a series of preset tactics. Votes will be weighted equally between fans and an expert panel.
Lionel Messi has the most appearances in the World 11 with 17, and he moved past Cristiano Ronaldo with his selection in the XI of 2021. Ronaldo has been included in 14 World XIs, while Sergio Ramos is next in terms of appearances, with 11.
Some of the goalkeeper nominees are Bounou, Ederson, Unai Simon, Yan Sommer and Lunin while Manuel Akanji, Bastoni, Laporte, Nino, Otamendi and Nigerian skipper Williams Troost-Ekong are part of the nominees in the defender category.
In midfield, the nominees include Acosta, James Rodriguez, Granit Xhaka, Federico Valverde, Florian Wirtz, Dani Olmo and Toni Kroos while Ademola Lookman, Viktor Gyokeres, Jamal Musiala, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Vinicius all made the attacker category.
The hosts for the 2024 Best FIFA Football Awards have yet to be announced. Previous hosts include Reshmin Chowdhury, Thierry Henry, Jim White, Jermaine Jenas, and Samantha Johnson.
No, they are not. The Ballon d’Or is an event organized by France Football while The Best FIFA Football Awards on the other hand organized by FIFA. They are still two distinct awards of which between 2010-2015 the two awards became as one, known as the FIFA Ballon d’Or.
They split up in 2016, and there has been two unique awards since then. The Best FIFA Football Awards was also known as FIFA World Player of the Year before the merger.
2018: David De Gea (Manchester United); Dani Alves (PSG), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid), Marcelo (Real Madrid); Luka Modric (Real Madrid), N’Golo Kante (Chelsea), Eden Hazard (Chelsea); Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/Juventus), Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
2019: Alisson (Liverpool); Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Matthijs de Ligt (Ajax/Juventus), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Marcelo (real Madrid); Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Frenkie de Jong (Ajax/Barcelona), Eden Hazard (Chelsea/Real Madrid); Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
2020: Alisson (Liverpool); Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich); Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Thiago (Bayern Munich/Liverpool), Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City); Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
2021: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Milan/PSG); David Alaba (Bayern Munich/Real Madrid), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Ruben Dias (Manchester City); Jorginho (Chelsea), N’Golo Kante (Chelsea), Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City); Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich), Kylian Mbappe (PSG), Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund).
2022: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid); Achraf Hakimi (PSG), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Joao Cancelo (Man City/Bayern Munich); Bernardo Silva (Man City), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Kevin de Bruyne (Man City); Kylian Mbappe (PSG), Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid), Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami)
2023: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid); Kyle Walker (Man City), John Stones (Man City), Ruben Dias (Man City); Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Casemiro (Real Madrid/Man Utd), Kevin de Bruyne (Man City); Kylian Mbappe (PSG), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund/Man City), Lionel Messi (PSG)
It is not confirmed when The Best FIFA Football Awards 2024 ceremony will take place, more details are yet to be released. But it will should happen in January 2025. The Best FIFA Football Awards are awarded in consideration with the year January to December and not the season August to May/June.
Therefore, the ceremony is performed in the early part of the new year annually.
The host country for the Best FIFA Football Awards 2024 have not been confirmed yet. The last award ceremony was held in London awhile the 2022 edition was held in Paris.
