Scheduled on the eve of the FIFA Intercontinental Cup Qatar 2025 final, which will pit Paris Saint-Germain against CR Flamengo at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, the ceremony will honor the best male and female players and coaches of the year, FIFA said in a statement.
Ahead of the ceremony, the same source added, the names of the best goalkeepers and best supporters will be revealed, while the most spectacular goals of the year will be showcased through a video released on FIFA’s platforms and across its social media channels. The FIFA Fair Play Award will also be announced.
No fewer than 800 personalities are expected to attend the gala dinner, including the FIFA President, members of the FIFA Council, FIFA Legends and representatives of member associations, as well as national and regional ambassadors and pioneers of the game.
As every year, fans turned out in large numbers, with their 16 million votes playing a decisive role in several “The Best” award categories, notably FIFA Best Women’s Player, FIFA Best Men’s Player, Best Women’s Coach, Best Men’s Coach, Best Women’s Goalkeeper and Best Men’s Goalkeeper.
According to FIFA, a weighting system was applied in each of these ballots to ensure equal voting power among supporters, captains and head coaches of all women’s and men’s national teams, as well as media representatives.
Fans also took part in voting for the “The Best FIFA Women’s XI” and the “The Best FIFA Men’s XI.”
With regard to the two awards for the most beautiful goal of the year, the FIFA Marta Award and the FIFA Puskás Award, supporters and a panel of FIFA Legends each hold equal voting weight. The FIFA Fan Award, for its part, is decided exclusively by fan votes, while the FIFA Fair Play Award is selected by a panel of experts.
Supporters will be able to watch the entire ceremony live and free of charge on FIFA.com. The broadcast will begin on Tuesday, December 16, at 8:00 p.m. local time (6:00 p.m. GMT+1).
It is worth noting that Achraf Hakimi, the right-back of the Moroccan national team and Paris Saint-Germain, features on the final shortlist for the “The Best FIFA Men’s Player” award, which recognizes the best player of the year.
He is joined on the shortlist by Ousmane Dembélé (France/PSG), Harry Kane (England/FC Bayern München), Kylian Mbappé (France/Real Madrid), Nuno Mendes (Portugal/PSG), Cole Palmer (England/Chelsea), Pedri (Spain/FC Barcelona), Raphinha (Brazil/FC Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Egypt/Liverpool), Vitinha (Portugal/PSG) and Lamine Yamal (Spain/FC Barcelona).
In addition, Hakimi and his compatriot Yassine Bounou (Al Hilal) have both been shortlisted for the Best Men’s XI of the year.
In the women’s category, Moroccan internationals Ghizlane Chebbak (Levante Badalona), Ibtissam Jraïdi (Al Ahli) and Sanaâ Mssoudy (AS FAR) are among the nominees for the Best Women’s XI of the year.
Editorial team/le7tv