End of year awards season continues with the announcements of the nominees for FIFA’s “The Best” awards, now in their tenth edition and still as awkwardly named as ever.
Since Chelsea did find success in both
the UEFA Conference League and, more notably, the very first edition of the revamped FIFA Club World Cup, we have received two nominations on the men’s side: Cole Palmer for the “The Best FIFA Men’s Player” and Enzo Maresca for the “The Best FIFA Men’s Coach”.
I don’t imagine Palmer has any chance at winning or even finishing top three — neither of which has ever been done by a Chelsea player — but I also didn’t think he’d get into the FIFPRO World XI, so perhaps I’m underrating his reputation and clout with the voters. Enzo Maresca does have a decent chance against the likes of Luis Enrique and Arne Slot, especially as FIFA sure do love a bit of self-aggrandizement. Obviously the FIFA Club World Cup is the greatest and most bestest tournament ever!
You can vote for Palmer here and for Maresca here. Should Maresca win, he’d be our second manager to win this award after Thomas Tuchel did so in 2021.
On the women’s side, Sonia Bompastor was nominated yet again as the coaching award (vote here), while Sandy Baltimore, Nathalie Björn, Lucy Bronze, and Lauren James are all finalist for the player’s award (vote here). And Yashin Trophy-winner Hannah Hampton might be the favorite to collect FIFA’s goalkeeping award as well (vote here).
