20:50 GMT
Next: The best Fifa coach for men. Nominees:
• Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid)
• Pep Guardiola (Manchester City)
• Lionel Scaloni (Argentina)
Updated at 20:50 GMT
20:49 GMT
“I love football,” says Wiegman. “Over the years I’ve seen women’s football grow and it’s incredible to be here now and to celebrate women’s football in the world… we have heroes in the room – little girls have their idols, inspirations… so many people have worked hard around the world to get the game to where it is now… but we face dangers. We want to go faster… we want to evolve, but we want to do the right things.
“Off the field, we should be a team and work together to develop the game even more.
“The EM in England was unbelievable. Full stadiums, so many families, all celebrating football. As the English say: We brought it home.
“You’re nothing without the players but I want to thank the staff, I want to thank the FA… and I want to thank my management, they took so much pressure off and allowed me to do my best.
“Lastly, my family…they saw me more on TV than at home…thank you for supporting me. Thank you and have a nice evening.”
An excellent speech that covered all the bases and made important points about the dangers of the growth of women’s football, while of course celebrating it first and foremost.
Updated at 20:50 GMT
20:45 GMT
Sarina Wiegman wins Best FIFA Women’s Coach award!
Never in doubt. euro glory. Wiegman won this award for the third time.
Updated at 20:50 GMT
20:42 GMT
Next up is the award for Best FIFA Women’s Coach. The nominees are:
• Sonja Bompastor (Lyon)
• Pia Sundhage (Brazil)
• Sarina Wiegman (England)
Jill Ellis and Hristo Stoichkov will present the award.
Updated at 20:44 GMT
20:39 GMT
Marcin Oleksy of Poland wins the Puskás Award for Best Goal!
And what a goal it was:
Marcin Oleksy scores Puskás award for Polish amputee team – video
He speaks Polish in his native language…then Jenas starts the VT again. And he’s on his way.
Updated at 20:40 GMT
20:37 GMT
“Wow … Some great results there, I think we all liked that,” Jenas says after GOALS’ montage hit the net.
Very much so, Richard. I’m sorry, Jermaine.
Updated at 20:42 GMT
20:36 GMT
When you’re not watching the feed You miss a lot of goals on fifa.com.
Updated at 20:36 GMT
20:33 GMT
Martinez delivers a tearful speech in Spanish.
The world champion battled Yassine Bounou and Thibaut Courtois to get that gong. And he certainly didn’t take it lightly.
“A really nice moment,” marvels co-moderator Jermaine Jenas.
Updated at 20:33 GMT
20:30 GMT
NowTime for the best man goalkeeper award.
Updated at 20:34 GMT
20:28 GMT
“thanks to all who voted for me,” says Earps. “Thank you to my loved ones who peeled me off the kitchen floor – not tonight but a few years ago… to all my team-mates, the England and Man Utd coaching staff… thank you Sarina [Wiegman] … for believing me the way you did. Anyone who’s been in a dark place move on, know there’s light at the end of the tunnel… don’t apologize.”
Nice words and a well-deserved award.
Updated at 20:35 GMT
20:26 GMT
Mary Earps is the best FIFA women’s goalkeeper!
Manchester United player takes it!
England and Manchester United goalkeeper Mary Earps makes a speech after receiving her award. Photo: Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images
Updated at 20:29 GMT
20:21 GMT
Infantino, it should be noted, wears a conventional black tuxedo set off by a box-fresh pair of bright white sneakers. It’s not like him to misjudge the tone and mood of an event like this, is it?
Updated at 20:21 GMT
20:19 GMT
Jairzinho now has a chat, sitting in the audience. He was speaking in Portuguese and I won’t lie, I didn’t understand what he was saying.
Updated at 20:19 GMT
20:16 GMT
Marcia Aoki, Pelé’s widow, comes on stage to accept a special award for Pelé. She says she has three words to express how she feels: “Grateful, thankful, and thankful.”
Updated at 20:16 GMT
20.10 GMT
Samantha Johnsonthe co-host, mangled her pronunciation of Seleção… and here’s Ronaldo saying a few words in Portuguese about Pelé.
Updated at 20:10 GMT
20.08 GMT
Infantino pays tribute to Peléand thanks his family for being in Paris tonight for the occasion.
“Pele was football,” says Infantino. And we have the first video montage of the evening, a series of clips of the Brazilian’s unique talent, with a few words from the late great man himself about his career and achievements.
A tribute to Pele is shown during The Best FIFA Football Awards. Photo: Joe Maher/FIFA/Getty Images
Updated at 20:22 GMT
20.04 GMT
“A night celebrating the best” says Infantino. … “Welcome to the millions who are joining us from home to see this amazing evening.
“What a year we had. We had the best World Cup ever… and this is a World Cup year and you are all invited to the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand later this year.”
Updated at 20.04 GMT
20.02 GMT
Action in live feed. We are on the way. The moderators introduce Gianni Infantino. And we’re gone.
Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, addresses the audience. Photo: Joe Maher/FIFA/Getty Images
Updated at 20:24 GMT
19:53 GMT
Beth Mead from England is in the running for the award for the best player. She was one of the standout performers in England’s EURO success and she’s up against Alex Morgan and Alexia Putellas. Putella’s Barcelona lost the Champions League final to Lyon but she scored 18 goals in what was a perfect league season – not just unbeaten but wins across the board. And Barça won the domestic cup on top of that. Putellas is aiming for two consecutive ‘Best’ awards alongside her double Ballon d’or win.
Updated at 19:58 GMT
19:47 GMT
Many stars arrive in Paris on the green carpet…
US player and presenter Samantha Johnson will host the awards ceremony alongside Jermaine Jenas. Photo: Franck Fife/AFP/Getty ImagesFabio Capello looks sharp. Photo: Sarah Meyssonnier/ReutersChelsea legend Didier Drogba arrives in Paris. Photo: Franck Fife/AFP/Getty ImagesSarina Wiegman is back in the running for the Best Women’s Coach award after winning it in 2017 and 2020. Photo: Daniela Porcelli/SPP/ShutterstockManchester United and England goalkeeper Mary Earps is also nominated for an award tonight. Photo: Daniela Porcelli/SPP/ShutterstockRicharlison is eyeing the Puskas Award for that goal at the World Cup. Photo: Sarah Meyssonnier/ReutersAlexia Putellas is hoping to add back-to-back Fifa awards with her double Ballon d’Or win. Photo: Sarah Meyssonnier/Portal
Updated at 19:47 GMT
19:46 GMT
Amid football’s relentless exodusthe World Cup final on December 18 already feels like it took place about four years ago. The final score was 3-3 and Argentina eventually beat France on penalties. Robert Lewandowski of Poland has won the top male award for the last few years and is back in contention here as well. But there is an overwhelming favorite elsewhere, as a result of this small cup competition in Qatar.
Argentina defeated France on penalties to win the World Cup after a stunning final
Updated at 19:48 GMT
19:40 GMT
We are 20 minutes away from the beginning of the broadcast. Who do you think will celebrate tonight? As previously mentioned, the categories and nominations are listed below. You can send me an email or tweet with all thoughts, within reason.
Updated at 19:40 GMT
19:30 GMT
preamble
The great and the good of world football gathered in Paris tonight. Also some of the not so good, the mediocre and even the downright bad.
Of course, the Best Fifa Football Awards™ 2022 will be a night to highlight the positive, discover the winners of the various awards and celebrate the many and varied events in global football over the past year.
There will be some cleverly edited videotape montages, pathetic speeches, and a huge room full of extremely expensive and often tacky tuxedos and ball gowns. Categories and nominees are below. Everything! Kick-off: 8pm UK/9am CET.
The best FIFA player:
• Beth Mead (England/Arsenal WFC)
• Alex Morgan (USA/Orlando Pride/San Diego Wave)
• Alexia Putellas (Spain / Barcelona)
Best Fifa Men’s Player:
• Karim Benzema (France / Real Madrid)
• Kylian Mbappé (France / Paris Saint-Germain)
• Lionel Messi (Argentina / Paris Saint-Germain)
Best FIFA Women’s Coach:
• Sonja Bompastor (Lyon)
• Pia Sundhage (Brazil)
• Sarina Wiegman (England)
Best FIFA Men’s Coach:
• Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid)
• Pep Guardiola (Manchester City)
• Lionel Scaloni (Argentina)
The best FIFA goalkeepers:
• Ann-Katrin Berger (Germany)
• Mary Earps (England / Manchester United)
• Christiane Endler (Chile / Lyon)
The Best FIFA Goalkeeper Men:
• Yassine Bounou (Morocco / Seville)
• Thibaut Courtois (Belgium / Real Madrid)
• Emiliano Martínez (Argentina / Aston Villa)
The Fifa Puskás Prize:
• Marcin Oleksy (Poland): Warta Poznan vs. Stal Rzeszow [PZU Amp Futbol Ekstraklasa] (November 6, 2022)
• Dimitri Payet (France): Olympique de Marseille v PAOK Thessaloniki [Europa Conference League] (April 7, 2022)
• Richarlison (Brazil): Brazil-Serbia [World Cup Qatar 2022] (11/24/2022)
Updated at 20:30 GMT