The Best FIFA Football Awards 2023 was held in London on January 15, 2024.
Organised by FIFA, the Best FIFA Football Award is presented by football’s governing body to celebrate the achievements in men’s and women’s football in the calendar year.
The winners at Best FIFA Football Awards 2023 were selected by an international jury featuring national team coaches and captains as well expert journalists and fans from all over the world registered on FIFA.com.
The award period for The Best FIFA Men’s Player, The Best FIFA Men’s Coach and The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper was between December 19, 2022 and August 20, 2023.
Apart from these three categories, The Best FIFA Women’s Player, The Best FIFA Women’s Coach, The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper, The FIFA Puskás Award, The FIFA Fair Play Award and The FIFA Fan Award were also given out. Get Best FIFA Football Awards 2023 winners list.
Best FIFA Football Awards 2023 winners list
The Best FIFA Men’s Player
Lionel Messi pipped Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe to win the Best FIFA Men's Player Award.
Interestingly, Messi and Haaland were tied in voting on 48 points. However, the FIFA World Cup 2022 winner edged the Manchester City forward based on the number of first-choice nominations which Messi received from the national team captains.
Previously, Messi won The Best FIFA Men's Player in 2019 and 2022 since its inception in 2016.
The Best FIFA Women’s Player
Barcelona Femeni midfielder Aitana Bonmati picked up her first Best FIFA Women's Player Award. The Spanish footballer topped the vote ahead of Linda Caicedo and Jenni Hermoso to win the award. Earlier, Bonmati bagged the Golden Ball prize at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 held in Australia and New Zealand. Bonmati received 52 points while Caicedo and Jenni Hermoso secured 40 and 36 points, respectively.
The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper
Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson won The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper Award ahead of Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois and Yassine Bounou of Al-Hilal. Ederson bagged the award for the first time after helping City win the treble - Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup in the 2022-23 season.
The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper
England and Manchester United No.1 Mary Earps won The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper Award for the second consecutive year. Mary Earps pipped Barcelona Femeni goalkeeper Catalina Coll and Australia’s Mackenzie Arnold after her impressive showing in the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023.
The Best FIFA Men’s Coach
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola claimed The Best FIFA Men’s Coach Award in London. Guardiola won the award ahead of Luciano Spalletti and Simone Inzaghi. Under Pep’s guidance, City won the treble including winning their first UEFA Champions League.
The Best FIFA Women’s Coach
England coach Sarina Wiegman bagged the The Best FIFA Women’s Coach Award for a record-extending fourth time. Previously, Wiegman won the award in 2017, 2020 and 2022. Wiegman (28 points) edged Emma Hayes and Jonatan Giraldez to claim the award.
The FIFA Puskás Award
Brazilian midfielder Guilherme Madruga won The FIFA Puskás Award for his spectacular overhead kick from outside the box for Botafogo against Novorizontino in the Brasileirão Serie B clash.
The FIFA Fan Award
Argentine Hugo Daniel “Toto” Iniguez was awarded The FIFA Fan Award for 2023.
In May 2023, the Colon de Santa Fe fan went viral after he was spotted feeding his son during an Argentine Primera Division encounter against Barracas Central.
The FIFA Fair Play Award
The Brazilian national football team won The FIFA Fair Play Award for their influential stand against racism.
A Seleção donned an all-black jersey in place of their traditional yellow kit during a friendly against Guinea in June 2023. Brazil donned a black kit for the first time in their history in order to show solidarity with star forward Vinicius Junior. The Brazilian star forward has been subjected to racial abuse while playing for Real Madrid in La Liga.
Photo credit: Alamy
