1:45 p.m.: It’s time for The Best Women’s Player award.
USA superstar Carli Lloyd is a nominee. She won last year.
1:35 p.m.: Mohd Faiz Subri has won the Puskas Award for this science-law-bending goal.
1:30 p.m.: Brazilian futsal legend Falcao wins the inaugural career award for his indoor exploits.
1:25 p.m.: Ranieri wins in an upset.
Such is the scale of Leicester City’s fairytale Premier League triumph last season that he beat out the winning coaches of the UEFA Champions League and Euro 2016 for “Best Men’s Coach”award.
1:25 p.m.: Here come the heavy hitters.
Diego Maradona will present the men’s coach of the year award. We reckon either Real Madrid’s Zinedine Zidane or Portugal’s Paulo Santos will win. Leicester City’s Claudio Ranieri also is a finalist.
1:20 p.m.: Atletico Nacional of Medillin, Colombia, wins the FIFA Fair Play award for its incredible support of Chapecoense in the wake of the tragic plane crash in December.
1:15 p.m.: Ronaldo and Griezmann are on stage talking about their nomination for the best men’s player award.
Lionel Messi is back in Spain preparing for Barcelona’s game against Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday in the Copa del Rey (Spanish cup).
1:05 p.m.: Germany’s Silvia Neid claims the best women’s coach award.
Germany won the gold medal at the Rio Olympics.
1 p.m.: FIFA now will name its men’s and women’s coach of the year.
Jill Ellis is a finalist but she might not win due to Team USA’s debacle at the Rio Olympics.
12:55 p.m.: And the Reds have won it.
12:50 p.m.: Now it’s time for the Fan Award, as voted by the public.
We’re rooting for Liverpool fans, whose rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” on April 14 at Anfield makes our spines tingle to this day.
12:40 p.m.: It’s time for the first award, as FIFA names its World XI, or all-world team. Over 26,000 professional players who belong to FIFpro, a world players’ union, voted on the World XI.
Goalkeeper: Maunel Neuer
Defenders: Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo
Midfielders: Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Andres Iniesta
Forwards: Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Cristiano Ronaldo.
They might as well call it the Real Madrid/Barcelona combined dream team (plus Neuer).
Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy was on the shortlist for the World XI but the Premier League’s only representative understandably didn’t make the final cut.
12:35 p.m.: Eva Longoria is one of the guest hosts, as the United States apparently continues to flex its muscles at FIFA in all kinds of ways.
12:30 p.m.: Some VIPs of the soccer world are in the house.
Noon ET: For at least a day, FIFA will make headlines for all the right reasons.
World soccer’s governing body will hold its annual awards ceremony on Monday in Zurich, Switzerland, crowning the best players, coaches, fans and goal for 2016. A combined voting process held in November determined the winners, and FIFA will reveal them to the world at a glitzy gala, known formally as “The Best FIFA Football Awards.”
Here are the awards and nominees, via FIFA.com:
- The Best FIFA Men’s Player Award (Nominees: Cristiano Ronaldo, Antoine Griezmann and Lionel Messi)
- The Best FIFA Women’s Player Award (Nominees: Melanie Behringer, Carli Lloyd and Marta)
- The Best FIFA Men’s Coach Award (Nominees: Claudio Ranieri, Fernando Santos and Zinedine Zidane)
- The Best FIFA Women’s Coach Award (Nominees: Jill Ellis, Silvia Neid and Pia Sundhage)
- The FIFA Puskás Award 2016 (Nominees: Marlone, Daniuska Rodriguez and Mohd Faiz Subri)
- The FIFA Fair Play Award
- The FIFA Fan Award (Nominees: ADO Den Haag supporters, Borussia Dortmund-Liverpool supporters and Iceland supporters)
“The Best FIFA Football Awards” ceremony will begin at 12:30 p.m. ET. Join us right here for some sights, sounds and news from Zurich.
Watch FIFA awards ceremony >>
Thumbnail photo via YouTube/FIFATV
