'The Best': all you need to know ahead of Monday's FIFA gala
FIFA are gearing up for a new era in the world of football awards with the introduction of 'The Best', after the organisation severed ties with France Football.
FIFA are gearing up for the first 'The Best' award ceremony at TPC studios in Zurich tomorrow night starting at 18:30 CET. Here's a snapshot guide of all you need to know about the event.
Divorce and new chapter
Respected French football magazine France Football and FIFA went their separate ways recently with the publication recuperating their original Ballon d'Or award prompting the world's football governing body to look for a new award system. That award is titled simply "The Best" and the winners for the past year will be revealed tomorrow night in the Swiss city of Zurich.
Cristiano aiming for the main prize
The main prize to be handed out during the course of Monday evening is that of "Best Player in the World" which is FIFA's replacement award for the Ballon d'Or award. The podium will feature the three players who were in the top three for the recent Ballon d'Or award, Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) and Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid).
During the evening FIFA will also deliver the following awards: Best Female Player (Melanie Behringer, Carli Lloyd and Marta are on the shortlist), Best Coach (Ranieri, Fernando Santos and Zidane are the candidates), Best Female coach (Jill Ellis, Silvia Neid and Pia Sundhage are the options), and the Puskas Goal of the Year prize with candidates being Marlone, Daniuska Rodríguez and Mohd Faiz Subri), a Fair play award and a prize to Best Fans with supporters from ADO Den Haag, Borussia Dortmund, Liverpool and the Icelandic national team on the shortlist.
Voting mechanic
50% of the votes were cast by national team managers and captains with 25% being decided by members of the public via an online vote. The final quarter of the votes were cast by selected members of the global media corps.