BUDAPEST — Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland are on the short-list for The Best FIFA Men’s Player Award, while 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.
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 football experts that included retired players Mia Hamm and Didier Drogba.
Voting for the eighth annual awards opened on FIFA.com and closes in mid-October. National team coaches, captains, journalists and fans make up the list of voters.
The Best FIFA Women’s Player nominees: Aitana Bonmati (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 Leon (Spain), Hinata Miyazawa (Japan), Salma Paralluelo (Spain), and Keira Walsh (England)
The Best FIFA Men’s Player nominees: Julian Alvarez (Argentina), Marcelo Brozovic (Croatia), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium), Ilkay Gundogan (Germany), Erling Haaland (Norway), Rodri (Spain), Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Georgia), Kylian Mbappe (France), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Victor Osimhen (Nigeria), Declan Rice (England) and Bernardo Silva (Portugal)
The Best FIFA Women’s Coach nominees: Peter Gerhardsson (Sweden), Jonatan Giraldez (Spain), Tony Gustavsson (Sweden), Emma Hayes(England) and Sarina Wiegman (Netherlands)
The Best FIFA Men’s Coach nominees: Pep Guardiola (Spain), Simone Inzaghi(Italy), Ange Postecoglou (Australia), Luciano Spalletti (Italy) and 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), Zecira Musovic (Sweden), and Sandra Panos Garcia-Villamil (Spain)
The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper nominees: Yassine Bounou (Morocco), Thibaut Courtois (Belgium), Ederson(Brazil), Andre Onana (Cameroon) and Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Germany)
The best FIFA Fan Award nominees: Club Atlético Colón fan (Argentina), Fran Hurndall (England), and Miguel Ángel, Millonarios fan (Colombia)
Fans from across the globe can cast their votes for The Best Women’s Player, The Best Men’s Player, The Best Women’s Coach, The Best Men’s Coach, The Best Women’s Goalkeeper, The Best Men’s Goalkeeper and The Fan Award between now and October 6.
