Understanding The Best FIFA Award: What It Is, How It Differs From Ballon d’Or, And Its Legacy
First awarded in 2016, The Best FIFA Men’s Player and The Best FIFA Women’s Player are annual honors created by FIFA to recognize outstanding performances across the global game. While they share a purpose with the Ballon d’Or, they represent a distinct tradition that runs alongside world football’s most famous prize. The Best is a separate accolade that highlights the best players each year, in both men’s and women’s categories, and it exists independently from the Ballon d’Or.
So, what sets The Best apart from the Ballon d’Or? The question often comes up among fans in North America and beyond. The Best focuses on performance over the calendar year, incorporating input from national team coaches, captains, and a wide jury of football experts. The Ballon d’Or, historically awarded by France Football, has its own voting body and tradition. Since 2016, FIFA’s The Best has provided another avenue to celebrate excellence, complementing but not replacing the traditional Ballon d’Or path.
What does The Best signify?
At its core, The Best strives to honor top football performance and influence. In Spanish, the term can be translated simply as “the best,” underscoring the goal of naming the player who stood out above all others during the year in both men’s and women’s football. The prize emphasizes peak form, impact in matches, and leadership on the field, across leagues and national teams alike.
A brief history
To understand the origin of The Best, it helps to look back at the early 1990s. The FIFA World Player of the Year awards were presented from 1991 through 2009 to determine the sport’s top star. In 2010, France Football and FIFA joined forces to create what became the Ballon d’Or, pooling prestige from both organizations. That collaboration continued until 2015. In 2016, FIFA introduced The Best FIFA Men’s Player and The Best FIFA Women’s Player, a move designed to emphasize contemporary performance metrics and broader alignment with modern football culture. The separation created two parallel paths for recognizing excellence in the sport.
About the trophy
The Best trophy is notable for its substantial presence. It weighs about 6.4 kilograms and is crafted from carbon fiber with platinum accents. The design features five distinct parts and stands roughly 31 centimeters tall. Winners are presented with a tangible trophy that they can take home, adding a personal milestone to the prestige of the award.
The list of winners
In the men’s and women’s categories, the award has highlighted a range of standout players since its inception in 2016. The following are the champions in each year, reflecting the year-by-year excellence that the prize seeks to celebrate:
2016: Cristiano Ronaldo for the men’s category and Carl Lloyd for the women’s category.
2017: Cristiano Ronaldo for the men’s category and Lee Martens for the women’s category.
2018: Luka Modrić for the men’s category and Martha Vieira for the women’s category.
2019: Lionel Messi for the men’s category and Megan Rapinoe for the women’s category.
2020: Robert Lewandowski for the men’s category and Lucy Bronze for the women’s category.
2021: Robert Lewandowski for the men’s category and Alexia Putellas for the women’s category.
These winners illustrate how The Best celebrates both ultimate individual performance and impact across different competitions, seasons, and national duties. The award remains a central fixture in the global football calendar, especially for audiences in Canada and the United States who follow international players and leagues closely. The Best continues to be announced annually, sustaining a dynamic narrative around contemporary football greatness, separate from the Ballon d’Or while contributing to the broader story of the sport’s brightest stars.
Note: All information reflects the history and milestones associated with The Best FIFA awards and their role in recognizing top talent on both sides of the Atlantic.