The Best FIFA Football Awards™ 2025 takes centre stage in Doha

The global football spotlight will shine on Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday, 16 December 2025, when the winners of the tenth edition of The Best FIFA Football Awards™ are officially unveiled.

The prestigious ceremony, one of the most important individual honours in world football, will be staged at the Fairmont Katara Hall. 

READ ALSO: QPR withdraw from Milan Youth Tournament following racist abuse of U13 player

The awards ceremony forms part of a wider celebration of football in Qatar and comes on the eve of the FIFA Intercontinental Cup Qatar 2025™ final, where European champions Paris Saint-Germain face South American giants CR Flamengo at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium. 

More than 800 invited guests are expected at the gala dinner, including FIFA President Gianni Infantino, members of the FIFA Council, football legends, representatives of national associations from around the world, and key figures who continue to shape the sport on and off the pitch. 

In 2025, supporters played a decisive role, casting over 16 million votes worldwide. Fans contributed directly to determining winners in major categories such as The Best FIFA Men’s Player, The Best FIFA Women’s Player, The Best FIFA Men’s Coach, The Best FIFA Women’s Coach, and the men’s and women’s Best Goalkeeper awards.

These honours were decided through an equally weighted voting system involving fans, national team captains, national team coaches, and accredited media representatives, ensuring a broad and inclusive evaluation of performance.

READ ALSO: Premier League clubs braced for AFCON disruptions as African stars head to tournament

Fan involvement extended further to the selection of The Best FIFA Men’s 11 and The Best FIFA Women’s 11, reinforcing FIFA’s commitment to giving supporters a voice in recognising excellence across the global game. 

According to FIFA, the FIFA Puskás Award and the FIFA Marta Award, which honour the best goals in men’s and women’s football respectively, were decided through a combination of fan votes and a panel of FIFA Legends.

Also ,the FIFA Fan Award was chosen entirely by supporters, while the FIFA Fair Play Award was selected by an expert panel.In the build-up to the main ceremony, several award winners will be announced through dedicated digital videos released on FIFA’s official platforms and social media channels.

These will include honours for fans, goalkeepers, fair play and goals of the year, before attention turns to the headline individual and team awards during the live gala.

In the women’s game, Spain and Barcelona star Aitana Bonmatí has been widely tipped as a favourite following another dominant year at club and international level.

READ ALSO: Fatawu’s wonder goal steals the show, Ayew puts the icing on Leicester victory

In the men’s category, attention has centred on Ousmane Dembélé, whose outstanding season has already been recognised with the Ballon d’Or, alongside other elite performers from Europe’s top leagues.