The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, between 1991 and 2015 at the FIFA World Player Gala. Coaches and captains of international teams and media representatives selected the player they deem to have performed the best in the previous calendar year.
The Ballon d'Or is an annual football award presented by French news magazine France Football since 1956 and co-organized alongside UEFA since 2024. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year and known as the FIFA Ballon d'Or. That partnership ended in 2016, and the award reverted to the Ballon d'Or, while FIFA also reverted to its own separate annual award The Best FIFA Men's Player. The recipients of the joint FIFA Ballon d'Or are considered as winners by both award organisations.
The Fédération Internationale des Associations de Footballeurs Professionnels, generally referred to as FIFPRO, is the worldwide representative organisation for 65,000 professional footballers. FIFPRO, with its global headquarters in Hoofddorp, Netherlands, is made up of 66 national players' associations. In addition, there are four candidate members. Lionel Messi has the most ever appearances in the FIFPRO World 11 with 17 overall, followed by Cristiano Ronaldo with 15.
The CAF Awards is an awards evening held to honour the best African association football players. It is conferred by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Lucia Roberta Tough Bronze is an English professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Liga F club Barcelona and the England women's national team. She has previously played for Sunderland, Everton, Liverpool, Lyon and Manchester City as well as North Carolina at college level in the United States and Great Britain at the Olympics. Bronze has won a total of four Champions League titles, three with Lyon and one with Barcelona; three Women's Super League titles, with Liverpool and Manchester City, and the Euro 2022 with England.
The FIFA Ballon d'Or was an annual association football award presented to the world's best men's player from 2010 to 2015. Awarded jointly by FIFA and France Football, the prize was a merger of the FIFA World Player of the Year award and the Ballon d'Or, the two most prestigious individual honours in world football. Unlike the Ballon d'Or awarded by France Football, the FIFA Ballon d'Or, was not awarded based on votes from international journalists, but votes from national team coaches and captains, who selected the players they deemed to have performed the best in the previous calendar year.
The 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala was the inaugural year for FIFA's awards for the top football players and coaches of the year. The gala is a continuation of the FIFA World Player Gala and a result of merging the FIFA Men's World Player of the Year award with the Ballon d'Or, previously created and presented by France Football to the top men's player in Europe. The awards ceremony took place on 10 January 2011 in Zürich, Switzerland. The three finalists for each category were announced on 6 December 2010.
Ada Martine Stolsmo Hegerberg is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a striker for the Division 1 Féminine club Lyon and the Norway national team. She is widely regarded as one of the best footballers in the world.
Pernille Mosegaard Harder is a Danish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a forward for Frauen-Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the Denmark national team. In September 2020, she became the world's most expensive female footballer following her transfer from VfL Wolfsburg to Chelsea, but the record was broken in September 2022 by Keira Walsh when she was signed to Barcelona. She is considered one of the best footballers in the world.
The 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala was the third year for FIFA's awards for the top football players and coaches of the year. The awards were given out in Zürich on 7 January 2013, with Lionel Messi winning a record fourth consecutive Ballon d'Or.
The 2013 FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala was the fourth year for FIFA's awards for the top football players and coaches of the year. The awards were given out in Zürich on 13 January 2014. The deadline for voting was 15 November 2013 but was extended to 29 November 2013 for the first time in history.
Kadeisha Buchanan is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a centre-back for English Women's Super League club Chelsea and the Canada women's national team. Born in Toronto and raised in Brampton, Ontario, she is the youngest of seven girls in a single-parent home. Buchanan was only 17 when she made her debut for the national team on January 13, 2013.
The 2014 FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala was the fifth year for FIFA's awards for the top football players and coaches of the year. The awards were given out in Zürich on 12 January 2015.
Barbara Bonansea is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a forward or midfielder for Serie A club Juventus FC and the Italy women's national team.
The 2015 FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala was the sixth year for FIFA's awards for the top football players and coaches of the year. The awards were given out in Zürich, Switzerland on 11 January 2016.
The Best FIFA Football Awards 2016 were held on 9 January 2017 in Zürich, Switzerland. The Best FIFA Football Awards are the annual recognitions awarded by FIFA to several individuals across different categories, including: best eleven players of the year, known as FIFA FIFPro World XI, FIFA World Coach of the Year for men's and for women's football, best female player of the year, 2nd best male player of the year, and best goal of the year. The FIFA Fair Play Award is the only award that usually goes to groups or entities instead of individuals.
The Best FIFA Men's Player is an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, since 2016, to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous calendar year. The award was formerly known as the FIFA World Player of the Year, which was merged with France Football's Ballon d'Or in 2010 to become the FIFA Ballon d'Or in a six-year partnership.
The Best FIFA Football Awards 2019 were held on 23 September 2019 at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy. The ceremony was attended by some of the most well known former players and managers such as Marco Van Basten, Marcel Desailly, Gianlucca Zambrotta, Fabio Capello, Christian Karembeu, Nadine Keßler, Carles Puyol, and others. Two awards were given out for the first time ever.
FIFA World Player Gala was an association football award show presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, throughout 1991–2009.
