The Best FIFA Football Awards 2022: Odds, shortlists, favourites and past winners
We’ve already had the Ballon d’Or, now get ready for FIFA’s Best Football Awards, with the ceremony taking place latter this month.
The candidates for six different individual awards were announced in January, delayed due to the men’s World Cup, and FIFA have been drip feeding us with the shortlists over the past few days.
We do now have the final three for all but one of the awards, including the main two. For The Best FIFA Men’s Player, it’s Karim Benzema, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, while The Best FIFA Women’s Player includes Alexia Putellas, Beth Mead and Alex Morgan.
Read on for more information on the 2022 The Best FIFA Football awards, including shortlists, odds and previous winners.
More on The Best FIFA Awards
What you need to know about The Best FIFA Awards
Quiz: The Best Fifa Men’s Player
The Best FIFA Men’s Award: Latest Odds
| Player Name | Club/National Team | Odds* |
|---|---|---|
| Lionel Messi | PSG/Argentina | TBC |
| Karim Benzema | Real Madrid/France | TBC |
| Kylian Mbappe | PSG/France | TBC |
The Best FIFA Women’s Award
| Player Name | Club/National Team | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Beth Mead | Arsenal/England | TBC |
| Alex Morgan | Orlando Pride/San Diego Wave/USA | TBC |
| Alexia Putellas | Barcelona/Spain | TBC |
The Best FIFA Men’s Coaches Award
| Player Name | Club/National Team | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Carlo Ancelotti | Real Madrid | TBC |
| Lionel Scaloni | Argentina | TBC |
| Pep Guardiola | Manchester City | TBC |
The Best FIFA Women’s Coaches Award
| Player Name | Club/National Team | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Sonia Bompastor | Lyon | TBC |
| Pia Sundhage | Brazil | TBC |
| Sarina Wiegman | England | TBC |
The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper Award
| Player Name | Club/National Team | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Yassine Bounou | Sevilla/Morocco | TBC |
| Thibaut Courtois | Real Madrid/Belgium | TBC |
| Emiliano Martinez | Aston Villa/Argentina | TBC |
The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper Award
| Player Name | Club/National Team | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Ann-Katrin Berger | Chelsea/Germany | TBC |
| Christiane Endler | Lyon/Chile | TBC |
| Mary Earps | Manchester United/England | TBC |
What are the FIFA Best Awards and how are they decided?
As far as individual awards go, there are two that will be used to highlight how good a player is or was — the Ballon d’Or and the FIFA Best. While The Best awards do have the backing of football’s governing body, they do still pale in comparison to the history and legacy of the Ballon d’Or which was first awarded in 1956 and is run by France Football.
FIFA had their first foray into the awards show with the FIFA World Player of the Year, first handed out in 1991. FIFA’s World Player of the Year was then merged with the Ballon d’Or between 2010 and 2015, and the conclusion of that partnership brought the birth of The Best.
Voting for the Ballon d’Or and the FIFA Best awards are fairly similar, with journalists, national team coaches and captains all given votes. However, voting for the FIFA Best awards also gives fans a voice, as one of the “four pillars of the footballing world”.
Votes from fans, journalists, national team coaches and captains are all given similar weight, counting 25% each.
Who are the previous FIFA Best Men’s Award winners?
Since the inaugural award in 2016, four players have been named The Best FIFA Men’s player. Cristiano Ronaldo was the first and second recipient of the award, winning it in 2016 for his role in Real Madrid’s Champions League victory and Portugal’s Euro 2016 triumph — and once again in 2017 as Los Blancos retained the European Cup.
In 2018, the World Cup had a major influence on the award with Luka Modric winning it for his part in helping Croatia reach the World Cup final alongside Real Madrid’s Champions League win, while Lionel Messi scooped the honour in 2019. A year later Robert Lewandowski was named as The Best for his phenomenal season with Bayern Munich in which they won the Treble, retaining his crown in 2021.
| Player Name | Club/National Team | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid/Portugal | 2016 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid/Portugal | 2017 |
| Luka Modric | Real Madrid/Croatia | 2018 |
| Lionel Messi | Barcelona/Argentina | 2019 |
| Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich/Poland | 2020 |
| Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich/Poland | 2021 |
Who are the previous FIFA Best Women’s Award winners?
Unlike the Men’s award, there has been a different winner every year for The Best Women’s player, with USWNT forward Carli Lloyd scooping the first in 2016. A year later, Lieke Martens won it thanks to her part in Netherlands winning the European Championships before Brazilian legend Marta took the crown in 2018. Megan Rapinoe made all the headlines in 2019 and was named The Best Women’s player as part of the USWNT’s World Cup winning squad. Lucy Bronze took the crown in 2021 after, winning the Champions League with Lyon in a stellar 2020 before moving to Manchester City. But the holder is Alexia Putellas, who has dominated the individual accolades recently.
| Player Name | Club/National Team | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Carli Lloyd | Houston Dash/United States | 2016 |
| Lieke Martens | Rosengard/Barcelona/Netherlands | 2017 |
| Marta | Orlando Pride/Brazil | 2018 |
| Megan Rapinoe | OL Reign/ United States | 2019 |
| Lucy Bronze | Lyon/Manchester City/England | 2020 |
| Alexia Putellas | Barcelona/Spain | 2019 |
Who are the previous FIFA Best Men’s Coach Award winners?
Winning the Premier League, Champions League or World Cup has been the criteria for the Best Men’s Coach so far, though Claudio Ranieri picked up the inaugural award more for the miracles he worked at Leicester than the trophy won. In 2017, Zinedine Zidane was named as the Best Men’s Coach for guiding Real Madrid to the Champions League and he was only bettered in 2018 by World Cup winner Didier Deschamps. Jurgen Klopp then went back-to-back, winning in both 2019 and 2020 for victories in the Premier League and Champions League respectively. Another German is the holder, with Thomas Tuchel scooping the award as he won the Champions League with Chelsea.
| Player Name | Club/National Team | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Claudio Ranieri | Leicester City | 2016 |
| Zinedine Zidane | Real Madrid | 2017 |
| Didier Deschamps | France | 2018 |
| Jurgen Klopp | Liverpool | 2019 |
| Jurgen Klopp | Liverpool | 2020 |
| Thomas Tuchel | Chelsea | 2021 |
Who are the previous FIFA Best Women’s Coach Award winners?
Like the Men’s award, there is a two-time winner for The Best Women’s Coach in Sarina Wiegman, though she had to wait a few years before reclaiming the gong. Germany manager Silvia Neid was named the inaugural Best Women’s Coach for making Die Nationalelf one of the best teams in the world before Wiegman got her first title as Netherlands won Euro 2017. A year later Reynald Pedros was honoured for his role in Lyon’s European dynasty and Jill Ellis took the crown in 2019 for winning the World Cup. Wiegman got her second award in 2020 for the work she did with the Netherlands in a quiet year for women’s football, before Emma Hayes won last year.
| Player Name | Club/National Team | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Silvia Neid | Germany | 2016 |
| Sarina Wiegman | Netherlands | 2017 |
| Reynald Pedros | Lyon | 2018 |
| Jill Ellis | United States | 2019 |
| Sarina Wiegman | Netherlands | 2020 |
| Emma Hayes | Chelsea | 2021 |
When is The Best FIFA Awards and where can I watch the ceremony?
Despite its name, The Best FIFA Awards 2022 will actually take place in 2023.
Monday February 27, 2023 is the date given for the ceremony and after being virtual last year will be held in Paris.
Streaming options for The Best FIFA Awards 2022 will be updated in due course.
