Update: FIFA has unveiled the trophy of their 'The Best' football awards which looks a bit like a mixture of the World Cup trophy and the Ballon d'Or trophy. The winner of the FIFA The Best awards will be revealed at a ceremony in Zürich on 9 January.
The Best FIFA Football Awards Trophy
Here is a video that shows how the trophy was created.
The relationship between FIFA and France Football is history. And as both parties decided to continue to name the best players of the year, there will be two best player awards from 2016 - the original Ballon d'Or and the all-new ''The Best FIFA Football Awards' award that was revealed by FIFA today.
FIFA Launches Ballon d'Or Rival - The Best FIFA Football Awards
Celebrating "the greatest performers of 2016", the all-new The Best FIFA Football Awards will not only be the "game's highest honor for coaches and footballers, but also a celebration in which football fans will play a vital and active part."
"This event will be about football and its most passionate participants – players, coaches and fans," said FIFA President Gianni Infantino. "It is a new event with new approaches to celebrating the game we all love."
The Best of 2016 will feature an improved voting system that will enable fans to support the player and coach of the year in both men's and women's football. The winners will be chosen via a process in which 50% of the result is based on the choices of captains and head coaches of all of the world's national teams. The other 50% will be split between the result of an online public ballot and the submissions from a selected group of more than 200 media representatives from around the world.
A total of eight trophies will be presented at The Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony:
- The Best FIFA Men's Player 2016
- The Best FIFA Women's Player 2016
- The Best FIFA Men's Coach 2016
- The Best FIFA Women's Coach 2016
- The FIFA Puskás Award 2016
- The FIFA Fair Play Award 2016
- The FIFA Fan Award 2016
- FIFA FIFPro World11
The FIFA FIFPro World11 will be selected by professional footballers from around the world, while fans will choose the winner of the FIFA Puskás Award for goal of the year through an online public ballot, and a group of football experts will decide the recipient of the FIFA Fair Play Award.
The first activity related to The Best of 2016 will get underway this week with the unveiling of the shortlists for four awards. The voting process for The Best FIFA Football Awards 2016 in the four categories above will be launched on 4 November and will close on 22 November with the final list with the three nominees for each of these awards unveiled on 2 December.
- Tuesday, 1 November: ten candidates for The Best FIFA Women's Coach 2016
- Wednesday, 2 November: ten candidates for The Best FIFA Men's Coach 2016
- Thursday, 3 November: ten candidates for The Best FIFA Women's Player 2016
- Friday, 4 November: 23 candidates for The Best FIFA Men's Player 2016
Share your thoughts below and find out even more about the award here.