FIFA’s annual awards ceremony takes place in Zurich on Monday, with a grand total of eight prizes up for grabs. The ceremony has this year been rebranded, with the Ballon d’Or having been replaced by The Best FIFA Men’s Player. That’s just one of a raft of changes, some of which will have more material consequences. For the first time this year, fans have been invited to participate in the voting, with the previous award having been nominated only by journalists, coaches, and captains.
Best FIFA Football Awards 2017 live stream: Start time and how to watch online
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi battle for soccer’s biggest individual honor again, while a handful of other awards will be given out as well.
Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images
Cristiano Ronaldo is the early favorite to win the men’s award, which would see him reclaim the prize from Lionel Messi. The Argentine attacker is, however, also in the running this time around, alongside Frenchman Antoine Griezmann. As for the women’s prize, Marta, who has won the FIFA World Player of the Year award five times previously, goes head to head with Germany’s Melanie Behringer and United States veteran Carli Lloyd.
Leicester City’s Claudio Ranieri will be hoping to claim the The Best FIFA Men’s Coach Award after he led the Foxes to an unlikely Premier League title last season. However, Portugal’s Fernando Santos offers stiff competition after his side’s Euro 2016 triumph. Real Madrid’s Zinedine Zidane, fresh from winning his first Champions League as a coach, is the third finalist. On the women’s side, the USWNT’s Jill Ellis goes toe-to-toe with Germany’s Olympic gold-winning head coach Silvia Neid, and Sweden’s Pia Sundhage.
Other prizes up for grabs include places in the FIFPro World11; the Puskás Award, handed to the scorer of the year’s most spectacular goal; the FIFA Fair Play Award; and finally, the FIFA Fan Award.
How to watch: The event will be streamed live on FIFA’s YouTube Channel starting at 12:30 p.m. ET.
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