The Best FIFA Football Awards 2022: Date, time, nominees, how to watch on live stream
A celebration of The Best, quite literally. It's awards season, folks, and 2022 is back in the spotlight.
It was the year when we enjoyed Real Madrid's miraculous run to Champions League glory, England's Lionesses make history and, of course, Lionel Messi complete his ultimate fairytale. Argentina's magic man is poised to add to his already imperious individual awards haul in 2023, beginning with The Best as he seeks to dethrone Robert Lewandowski.
Shortlists of nominees for each award have been published and since trimmed down, with the ceremony taking place at the end of this month.
Here's everything you need to know about the The Best FIFA Football Awards 2022.
When are The Best FIFA Football Awards 2022?
All the winners of FIFA's The Best awards 2022 will be crowned on Monday 27 February.
The ceremony, which is held in Paris, will kick off in the evening local time. Last year, it began at 18:00 GMT / 19:00 CET / 13:00 ET / 10:00 PT.
Where to watch The Best FIFA Football Awards 2022
FIFA's official YouTube channel will be streaming The Best FIFA Football Awards 2022 live.
The Best FIFA Men's Player 2022 nominees
Player | Club | National Team |
|---|---|---|
Karim Benzema | Real Madrid | France |
Kylian Mbappe | Paris Saint-Germain | France |
Lionel Messi | Paris Saint-Germain | Argentina |
This has got to be Messi's crown, right? Argentina's diminutive hero played a starring role as La Albiceleste lifted their first World Cup since 1986.
The only blemish on Messi's storied career was the absence of the game's ultimate prize, but victory over France in the competition's greatest-ever final meant he checked off that final box.
Many would've fancied Kylian Mbappe to win the award had the penalty shootout gone Les Blues' way after he became the first man since 1966 to score World Cup final hat-trick to round off a Golden Boot-winning campaign.
The Best FIFA Women's Player 2022 nominees
Player | Club | National Team |
|---|---|---|
Beth Mead | Arsenal | England |
Alex Morgan | Orlando Pride / San Diego Wave | USA |
Alexia Putellas | Barcelona | Spain |
Alexia Putellas is the holder of this award and she's made a strong case to retain her crown despite sustaining an ACL tear which ruled her out for the second half of 2022. The Spaniard missed Euro 2022 as a result and it's the competition's golden girl, Beth Mead, who's set to dethrone Putellas.
Mead, who finished second behind Putellas in last year's Ballon d'Or Feminin, won the Golden Boot and was named Player of the Tournament as England’s Lionesses won the Euros at Wembley.
The Best FIFA Men's Coach 2022 nominees
Manager | Team | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
Carlo Ancelotti | Real Madrid | Italian |
Pep Guardiola | Manchester City | Spanish |
Lionel Scaloni | Argentina | Argentinian |
Carlo Ancelotti's stoicism played a key role amid Real Madrid's miraculous ascent to Champions League glory, while Pep Guardiola oversaw yet another Premier League triumph in Manchester.
However, this award has to go to Lionel Scaloni. The cool-headed Argentinian overcame obvious tactical deficiencies early on at the World Cup to build a team capable of guiding Messi to the promised land. Scaloni's tweaks ensured Argentina progressed deep into the tournament.
The Best FIFA Women's Coach 2022 nominees
Manager | Team | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
Sonia Bompastor | Lyon | French |
Pia Sundhage | Brazil | Swedish |
Sarina Wiegman | England | Dutch |
Come on, it's Sarina Wiegman. Next. Is there anything she can't do?
The Best FIFA Men's Goalkeeper 2022 nominees
Player | Club | National Team |
|---|---|---|
Yassine Bounou | Sevilla | Morocco |
Thibaut Courtois | Real Madrid | Belgium |
Emiliano Martínez | Aston Villa | Argentina |
We're bucking the trend here and straying away from World Cup antics. While both Emi Martinez and Yassine Bounou enjoyed stellar campaigns in Qatar, Thibaut Courtois' performance between the sticks as Real Madrid lifted the Champions League in Paris is surely worthy of winning this award alone.
The Best FIFA Women's Goalkeeper 2022 nominees
Player | Club | National Team |
|---|---|---|
Ann-Katrin Berger | Chelsea | Germany |
Mary Earps | Manchester United | England |
Christiane Endler | Lyon | Chile |
Mary Earps was fantastic as England's Lionesses made history at Wembley, and she's surely the front-runner for this award. While both her rivals collected major pieces of silverware in 2022, Earps' form over the past year should see her collect plenty of individual awards in 2023.
The Manchester United keeper was named in the Euro 2022 Team of the Tournament.
FIFA Puskas Award 2022 nominees
Player | Game | Date |
|---|---|---|
Marcin Oleksy | Warta Poznań vs Stal Rzeszów | 6 November, 2022 |
Dimitri Payet | Marseille vs PAOK Thessaloniki | 7 April, 2022 |
Richarlison | Brazil vs Serbia | 24 November, 2022 |
How can you separate the three?
If you appreciate improbability and ingenuity, Olesky's your guy. For sheer satisfaction and technique, it's Payet. But if you're one who takes the occasion into account, it'll be hard to look past Richarlison, who did that in a World Cup group game.
Here are links to each of these goals: Oleksy, Payet and Richarlison.