عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Sports

Gala Ceremony for Best FIFA Football Awards to be Held in London in January

FILED - 29 March 2023, Brazil, Rio de Janeiro: Visitors watch the FIFA Women's World Cup trophy during a tour to promote the women's tournament. Photo: Joao Gabriel Alves/dpa
FILED - 29 March 2023, Brazil, Rio de Janeiro: Visitors watch the FIFA Women's World Cup trophy during a tour to promote the women's tournament. Photo: Joao Gabriel Alves/dpa
TT
TT

Gala Ceremony for Best FIFA Football Awards to be Held in London in January

FILED - 29 March 2023, Brazil, Rio de Janeiro: Visitors watch the FIFA Women's World Cup trophy during a tour to promote the women's tournament. Photo: Joao Gabriel Alves/dpa
FILED - 29 March 2023, Brazil, Rio de Janeiro: Visitors watch the FIFA Women's World Cup trophy during a tour to promote the women's tournament. Photo: Joao Gabriel Alves/dpa

The Best FIFA Football Awards will be staged in London in January, world soccer's governing body said Friday.
The gala event, which will see the likes of Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, Pep Guardiola, Aitana Bonmati and Emma Hayes in contention for big prizes, will be held on Jan. 15.
It is the eighth edition of the awards, which celebrates the “planet’s top players, coaches, fans, goals, and acts of fair play.” It is the third time it has been hosted in London, following previous ceremonies in 2016 and 2017.
FIFA did not say which venue had been chosen for the ceremony.
Eight awards are voted for by coaches, captains, journalists and fans. They include the best men's and women's player, coach and goalkeeper.
Among other awards is the Puskas Award for the best goal of the year.
Messi was named the best men's player in 2022 and Alexia Putellas won the women's award.
Argentina's World Cup winning coach Lionel Scaloni and England's European Championship winning coach Sarina Wiegman won the awards for their respective coaching categories.
Women's World Cup stars Bonmati, Linda Caicedo and Lauren James are among the nominees for the women's player award this year.
Messi, Haaland and Kylian Mbappe are among the names up for the men's award.
Guardiola is up for the best men's coach award after winning the treble last year with Manchester City. New US women's coach Emma Hayes is among a strong field in the women's category, with Wiegman and Barcelona's Champions League-winning coach Jonatan Giraldez among the nominees.

Most Viewed

 
 
Sports

Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony: Saudi Team Highlights Cultural Heritage

Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)
Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)
TT
TT

Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony: Saudi Team Highlights Cultural Heritage

Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)
Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)

Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, Chairman of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and his deputy, Prince Fahd bin Jalawi bin Abdulaziz, attended the opening ceremony of the 33rd Olympic Games in Paris.

Held outside the traditional stadiums for the first time in history, the ceremony featured a parade of the 206 participating countries on 100 boats traveling approximately 6 kilometers along the Seine River.

The Saudi show jumping team player, Ramzy Al-Duhami, and his colleague, the Saudi Taekwondo champion Dunya Aboutaleb, raised the Saudi flag at the opening of the world’s largest sporting event.

Al-Duhami expressed his pride in raising the Kingdom’s flag alongside his teammate, noting that it was a dream for any Saudi citizen. He wished success for the Saudi athletes in representing Saudi sports with distinction.

Aboutaleb, in turn, said he was honored to carry the Kingdom’s flag at the Olympic Games, stating: “I aspire to perform at a level that reflects the support and attention given to sports in the Kingdom.”

The Saudi athletes’ uniform was admired by the international media and the audience, who applauded the players the moment their boat appeared on the Seine River.

The designs for the opening ceremony were chosen through a national competition organized by the Saudi Arabian Olympic and Paralympic Committee, with the participation of designers from across the Kingdom.

Out of 128 competing designers, the chosen uniform by Saudi designer Alia Al-Salmi featured traditional men’s thobes and bishts and brightly patterned thobe al-nashal for women, symbolizing the athletes’ pride in their homeland and cultural roots.

Mashael Al-Ayed, 17, will be the first Saudi athlete to compete, taking to the pool for the 200 meters freestyle swimming event on July 28. Al-Ayed is the first female swimmer to represent Saudi Arabia at the Olympics.