Everything you need to know about the prestigious award for the best football prospects
Who will be the next big football star? Where will the next Lionel Messi come from? Will we ever see another player like Cristiano Ronaldo? These are the questions that occupy and delight fans of this sport around the world.
The best young talent out there, ‘Wonderkids’ intrigues and captivates fans, with many wondering how a precocious teen star’s career could go. That’s what NXGN is all about.
GOAL brings you everything you need to know about the prestigious award, previous winners and more.
What is NXGN?
NXGN is a list of the best young players aged 19 and under in football for a given season. Created in 2016, NXGN’s men’s category features the top 50 prospects, with the player at the top of the list being crowned the winner between 2016 and 2022. The Women’s Edition of NXGN was founded in 2020 and has risen from a list of 10 players to 25 in 2023.
How is the NXGN grid determined?
Players on NXGN’s rosters are determined by soccer experts from around the world, led by NXGN’s youth soccer specialists, who monitor soccer’s top prospects throughout the year.
What is NXGN Nine?
In 2023, there will not be one NXGN winner for each list, but nine: The NXGN Nine. These nine players are considered elite talents who have the potential to become world-class footballers as they continue to develop. They each receive an award from NXGN to mark their achievement.
List of past NXGN winners
You can view the male and female 2016 NXGN winners below:
Youri Tielemans won the inaugural NXGN crown in 2016 while playing for Anderlecht, winning the award ahead of Breel Embolo and Gianluigi Donnarumma. The following year, Donnarumma claimed the NXGN title, with Kylian Mbappé and Christian Pulisic finishing second and third respectively.
Justin Kluivert was the 2018 NXGN winner, with Donnarumma finishing second for the second time, while Vinicius Jr was third. In 2019, Englishman Jadon Sancho won NXGN, with Vinicius Jr and Callum Hudson-Odoi on the podium.
You can see the full list of male NXGN winners in the table above.
NXGN female winners
Lena Oberdorf was the winner of the very first NXGN Women’s Award in 2020, with Jordyn Huitema and Claudia Pina following the German talent closely. Swedish youngster Hanna Bennison won the following year in 2021, while Haitian star Melchie Dumornay was crowned NXGN winner in 2022.
Source: Goal