Three Africans make FIFA list of nominees for global awards
Zurich, Switzerland (PANA) - Three Africans, two players and a coach, are on the FIFA list of 42 nominees for the 2019 FIFA "Top individual awards in world football."
A FIFA press statement, released on Wednesday in Zurich, named the Africans as Sadio Mane of Senegal, playing for Liverpool in the UK, Mohamed Salah of Egypt (also in Liverpool), both for the men's Best Footballer's Award, and Djamel Belmadi of Algeria, coach of the Algerian national team, who is gunning for the men's coach title.
According to FIFA, the 42 names for The Best FIFA Men’s and Women’s Player and Coach awards are spread across five continents, with the global game truly represented across the nominees.
It said that the shortlists were selected by two panels of experts – one for men’s football and the other for women’s football.
FIFA said voting is now open for these four awards, and the decision will be split between four key pillars of the beautiful game: the players, the coaches, the fans and the media.
The four groups of voters – namely: national team captains, national team coaches, selected media and the fan vote conducted on FIFA.com – are weighted evenly (25% each) when determining the final result.
Two-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo will be hoping to reclaim his crown from last year’s The Best FIFA Men’s Player Luka Modric, while The Best FIFA Women’s Player trophy will have a totally new name on the honour’s board on 23 September.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019 has had an undoubted impact among the nominees for The Best FIFA Women’s Player, with 11 of the 12 candidates on the global stage in France.
Below are the nominees at a glance:-
The Best FIFA Men’s Player nominees
Cristiano Ronaldo (PORTUGAL) – Juventus
Frenkie de Jong (NEDERLANDS) – Ajax / FC Barcelona
Matthijs de Ligt (NEDERLANDS) – Ajax / Juventus
Eden Hazard (BELGIUM) – Chelsea / Real Madrid
Harry Kane (ENGLAND) – Tottenham Hotspur
Sadio Mane (SENEGAL) – Liverpool
Kylian Mbappe (FRANCE) – Paris Saint-Germain
Lionel Messi (ARGENTINA) – FC Barcelona
Mohamed Salah (EGYPT) – Liverpool
Virgil van Dijk (NEDERLANDS) – Liverpool
The Best FIFA Women’s Player nominees
Lucy Bronze (ENGLAND) – Olympique Lyonnais
Julie Ertz (USA) – Chicago Red Stars
Caroline Graham Hansen (NORWAY) – Wolfsburg / FC Barcelona
Ada Hegerberg (NORWAY) – Olympique Lyonnais
Amandine Henry (FRANCE) – Olympique Lyonnais
Sam Kerr (AUSTRALIA) – Chicago Red Stars / Perth Glory
Rose Lavelle (USA) – Washington Spirit
Vivianne Miedema (NEDERLANDS) – Arsenal
Alex Morgan (USA) – Orlando Pride
Megan Rapinoe (USA) – Reign FC
Wendie Renard (FRANCE) – Olympique Lyonnais
Ellen White (ENGLAND) – Birmingham City / Manchester City
Didier Deschamps and Reynald Pedros are in the running to retain their title as the top coaches in world football, but they will be pushed hard by continental kings and the standout performers at this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The Best FIFA Men’s Coach nominees
Djamel Belmadi (ALGERIA) – Algeria national team
Didier Deschamps (FRANCE) – France national team
Marcelo Gallardo (ARGENTINA) – River Plate
Ricardo Gareca (ARGENTINA) – Peru national team
Pep Guardiola (SPAIN) – Manchester City
Jurgen Klopp (GERMANY) - Liverpool
Mauricio Pochettino (ARGENTINA) – Tottenham Hotspur
Fernando Santos (PORTUGAL) – Portugal national team
Erik ten Hag (NEDERLANDS) – Ajax
Tite (BRAZIL) – Brazil national team
The Best FIFA Women’s Coach nominees
Milena Bertolini (ITALY) – Italy national team
Jill Ellis (USA) – USA national team
Peter Gerhardsson (SWEDEN) – Sweden national team
Futoshi Ikeda (JAPAN) – Japan U-20 national team
Antonia Is (SPAIN) – Spain U-17 national team
Joe Montemurro (AUSRALIA) – Arsenal
Phil Neville (ENGLAND) – England national team
Reynald Pedros (FRANCE) – Olympique Lyonnais
Paul Riley (ENGLAND) – North Carolina Courage
Sarina Wiegman (NEDERLANDS) – Netherlands national team
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