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A Guide to FIFA’s Best Football Awards

HARRIET LANDER/GETTY IMAGES

On November 25th, FIFA announced the nominees for their annual Football Awards, which will take place on December 17th 2020. It will be the first awards held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The window to be considered is based on what was done between July 8th, 2019 to October 8th, 2020, which eliminates any performances from the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Below are the nominees for player of the year and a summary of their accomplishments.

 

THE BEST FIFA WOMEN’S PLAYER
1. Lucy Bronze – England – Olympique Lyonnais & Manchester City

Lucy Bronze won the UEFA Champions League with Lyon, helping the club win its fifth consecutive Champions League. Bronze also won the Division 1 Féminine league title and the Coupe de France with Lyon before returning to Manchester City, where she is now an integral part of their starting XI.


2. Delphine Cascarino – France – Olympique Lyonnais

Delphine Cascarino won the treble with Olympique Lyon — the Champions League, the Division 1 Féminine, and the Coupe de France. She was named Player of the Match in the Champions League Final, as she controlled the game by setting up the first two goals that Lyon scored.

3. Caroline Graham Hansen – Norway – Barcelona

Caroline Graham Hansen won two trophies with Barcelona, winning the Primera División and the very first edition of the Supercopa de España Femenina. Hansen also helped lead Barcelona to the semifinals of the Champions League and was included as part of UEFA’s Squad of the Season.


4. Pernille Harder – Denmark – VfL Wolfsburg & Chelsea

Pernille Harder led VfL Wolfsburg to the Champions League Final, and she won the UEFA Champions League Forward of the Season title due to her efforts throughout the competition. She won the Women’s Footballer of the Year in Germany after winning both the Frauen-Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal Frauen with Wolfsburg, serving as the team’s top scorer with 38 goals in 33 appearances. Harder joined Chelsea earlier this year after signing a contract for a world-record fee for a women’s player.

5. Jennifer Hermoso – Spain – Barcelona 

Jennifer Hermoso won the double with Barcelona in her first year at the club – the Primera División and the Supercopa de España Femenina. She was also the Primera División’s top goalscorer during the 2019/20 season, winning the award for the second consecutive year and for the fourth time in her career.


6. Ji So-yun – South Korea – Chelsea

Ji So-yun won two trophies with Chelsea, the FAWSL league title and the FA Women’s League Cup, bringing her tally to eight trophies won with the club since signing in 2014. Ji was also part of the PFA Team of the Year and was a finalist for the PFA Players’ Player of the Year.

7. Sam Kerr – Australia – Chelsea 

Sam Kerr managed to win her third consecutive NWSL Golden Boot in her last season at Chicago Red Stars, with 18 goals scored, an NWSL record. She was also named the league’s Most Valuable Player. Her move to England saw her win the double with Chelsea in her first season at the club.

8. Saki Kumagai – Japan – Olympique Lyon

Saki Kumagai was a part of Olympique Lyon’s treble-winning team, winning the Division 1 Féminine, the Coupe de France, and the Champions League. Her efforts in the Champions League, including a goal in the final against VfL Wolfsburg, led her to be named to UEFA’s Squad of the Season. Her efforts at both the club and international level also saw her win the Asian Women’s Footballer of the Year in December 2019.

9. Dzsenifer Marozsán – Germany – Olympique Lyon

Dzsenifer Marozsán was also an integral part of Lyon’s treble-winning season. After the Champions League Final, she was awarded UEFA Champions League Midfielder of the Season. She also won the 2020 Algarve Cup with Germany.

10. Vivianne Miedema – Netherlands – Arsenal

Vivianne Miedema has taken Arsenal to the next level with her goal-scoring prowess. Despite Arsenal only reaching the quarter-finals in the Champions League, Miedema finished as the competition’s top scorer with ten goals. She was also the FAWSL’s top goalscorer during the 2019/20 season with 16 goals. Miedema was integral in Arsenal’s 11-1 win against Bristol City in December 2019, which was the largest victory in the history of the league. During the match, Miedema was involved in ten of Arsenal’s 11 goals with six goals and four assists.

11. Wendie Renard – France – Olympique Lyon

Wendie Renard’s leadership in her central defender role was a massive part of why Olympique Lyon was able to win the treble, so much so that she was named the UEFA Champions League Defender of the Season. The three trophies Renard won this year with Lyon upped her total number of trophies won with the club to 33.


FIFA also shortlisted six goalkeepers for The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper award and seven coaches for The Best FIFA Women’s coach.

Three finalists from each category will be announced on December 11th, one week before the awards ceremony, with voting open to the public until December 9th.

Vote here.

USC’s McKenzie Forbes: From Gap Year to the NCAA Tournament

As part of our 1-v-1 video series, USC’s India Otto sat down to interview her teammate McKenzie Forbes. 

Here are five things to know from our conversation with the graduate transfer from Folsom, California.

#1 Inspired by USC’s Head Coach, Lindsay Gottlieb, McKenzie wants to be a basketball coach or work in the front office in the future.

When weighing in on what makes a good coach, McKenzie said x’s and o’s are important but “Coaching is a lot of relationship managing and people managing. I think you have to be a good people person and be able to build those relationships, but also in that same breath, you can’t be afraid to have people dislike you in moments. I think that’s a big part of leadership.”

#2 McKenzie says the trajectory of her career changed when she made the decision to transfer from Cal to Harvard.

 In order to transfer, she was forced to take a gap year and spend a lot of time in the gym. “I completely transformed my body and, going into the Harvard season, felt like I was a completely different player. Going to Harvard and playing in a more mid-major conference, I had the ball in my hands a lot more than I might have if I transferred to another Power 5. It really developed other parts of my game.”

#3 How does McKenzie think USC will do in the Women’s College Basketball Tournament?

“I’m not going to give a typical interview answer. I want a Final Four. We have that potential and capability. Like why not? Why not us? I think we have all the pieces.”

#4 Her older brother, Marcus, was her biggest mentor growing up.

“He was basically my trainer from Elementary school on until he went to college.”

#5 Fun facts about Forbes:

She can juggle and she was the quarterback of her Pop Warner football team. “I was slow but I could throw it!”

Watch the full conversation on the Just Women’s Sports YouTube channel.

Christen Press back training with Angel City FC

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 15: Christen Press #23 of Angel City FC waves to fans following a game between the Portland Thorns and Angel City FC at BMO Stadium on October 15, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images)

Christen Press continues to inch her way back to a return, having returned to training with her club team Angel City. 

Angel City FC coach Becki Tweed said on Wednesday that Press is back with the team full-time as she continues to make her way back from an ACL injury. While she’s still working on rehab, her being back with the team gives staff a better picture of her progress. 

"Christen [Press] is back with us full time which is amazing,” she said. “Having her in and around the team every day, continuing to work hard on rehab ... she's in a space where being in with the team is really important to her and her progression as well.”

The status update comes days after Press posted videos to social media that featured her doing lateral movement in cleats on grass. 

“Look out world she’s on the move !” Press captioned it. 

Press has been sidelined with an ACL injury since 2022, which caused her to miss the 2023 World Cup. She’s since had four separate surgeries to help repair her ACL.

Press told The Athletic a month ago that she’s been “relentless” in her optimism with her recovery despite it being a “slow process.”

“I have a bit of relentless optimism,” she told The Athletic. “I never, ever doubted that I would make it back on any of the timelines I’ve been on."

"Every single time I’ve heard, ‘You have to have surgery,’ I’m completely shocked,” she said. “When somebody asks me how it’s going, I’m like, ‘It’s going great. And it was going great every time. So I don’t know what to tell you anymore!’”

Sophia Smith re-signs with Portland on record deal

(Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports)

Sophia Smith is now the NWSL’s highest-paid player. 

The Portland Thorns announced on Wednesday that they have signed Smith to a new contract through the 2025 season, with an option for 2026. While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, the team did reveal that Smith is now the highest-paid player in the league on an annual basis.

It’s the latest in what has been a series of record-breaking contracts in the NWSL offseason. 

Chicago Red Stars forward Mallory Swanson, Bay FC forward Racheal Kundananji, and Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda all signed multi-year deals worth between $2 million and $2.5 million in total. While Smith’s contract is shorter and not worth as much over the long-term, the annual worth is higher. 

“We are over the moon to have Soph commit again to the Thorns. She is a proven, world-class talent and one that we are excited to have contribute to the team’s continued success,” said head coach Mike Norris in a statement. “We look forward to working with her in a Thorns jersey as she continues to shine as one of the top strikers in the world.”

In just four seasons in the NWSL, Smith has led the Thorns to five trophies – including the 2022 NWSL championship – while winning league and championship MVP in 2022. In 61 appearances with Portland, she has 34 goals – including a brace to start this season against Kansas City. 

She’s also a member of the USWNT, having scored 16 goals in 44 international appearances.  Set to become a free agent at the end of this season, she told ESPN she “thought of all the options” but ultimately Portland felt like the right decision.

"There is no place like Portland," Smith said in a small roundtable interview that included ESPN. "I don't believe there's an environment like Portland to play in and it's a city that's so special to me and a city that I feel like I've grown up in almost and become who I am."

She also told ESPN that the team’s new ownership “changes everything.” The club is now led by the Bhathal family, who bought the club after Merritt Paulson was forced to sell it following his part in the NWSL’s abuse scandal. 

"Since I've been here there has been a lot of things going on with this club -- a lot of not-great things going on with this club -- and I have just been waiting for some stability and some reassurance that this club is headed in the right direction, and the Bhathal family coming in is doing exactly that, if not more,” Smith said. 

"Their vision for this club is so exciting, and you can just tell how passionate they are about making this what it should be and continuing to push the standard in women's soccer globally.”

Caitlin Clark offered $5 million to compete in Ice Cube’s league

IOWA CITY, IOWA- MARCH 25: Guard Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes celebrates as time runs out in the second half against the West Virginia Mountaineers during their second round match-up in the 2024 NCAA Division 1 Women's Basketball Championship at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on March 25, 2024 in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)

Caitlin Clark has been offered $5 million to play in Ice Cube's Big3 league, he confirmed on social media Wednesday after the offer leaked.

"We intended the offer to remain private while Caitlin Clark plays for the championship," Ice Cube wrote on social media. "But I won't deny what's now already out there: BIG3 made a historic offer to Caitlin Clark. Why wouldn't we? Caitlin is a generational athlete who can achieve tremendous success in the BIG3."

While there has yet to be a women's player in the league, both Nancy Lieberman and Lisa Leslie have been part of the league as coaches and won championships.

"The skeptics laughed when we made Nancy Lieberman the first female coach of a men's pro team, and she won the championship in her first year," Ice Cube continued. "Then Lisa Leslie won it all in year two. With our offer, Caitlin Clark can make history and break down even more barriers for women athletes."

Ice Cube, whose name is O’Shea Jackson, says that the offer was made with the intention that Clark be able to compete in the WNBA “offseason.” Clark is largely expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft in April. But it’s unclear how the scheduling of the two leagues would work. 

The 2024 Big3 season is set to tip off on June 15, with 10 games spanning through mid-August. The WNBA regular season, meanwhile, begins on May 14 and ends on Sept. 19.

On “The Pat McAfee Show” on Wednesday, Jackson said that the league has yet to hear back from Clark. 

“We just need an answer, as soon as they are ready to give it to us,” he said. “It’s always 50-50 till we get a no. At the end of the day, it’s a generous offer.”

The offer – as well as the confusion on Jackson’s part about the timing of the WNBA season – caused some current WNBA players to react. 

"It's funny cause I be seeing his son at W games.. they don't talk?" wrote former No. 1 pick Rhyne Howard

"So no other women's basketball player has came to mind in the last 7 years?" wrote Lexie Brown, adding that she'd support if Ice Cube wanted to build a women's iteration of the league. She later discussed it on the Gils Arena Show, noting that his reasoning of wanting to “uplift and support WNBA players and women athletes” is a “cop out.”

Kalani Brown, meanwhile, told Clark to "take that money" and start a women's Big3.

WNBA salaries has been a talking point in recent months as more collegiate stars declare for the league. WNBA stars have often made more money playing abroad than they have in the WNBA. Clark is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft on April 15, with a rookie salary of $76,535 for lottery draft picks (Nos. 1-4) that rises to $97,582 by her fourth season. But she also has an NIL valuation of almost $3.5 million.

Diana Taurasi famously skipped the 2015 WNBA season at the request of her Russian club, who paid her more to sit out than she would have made in the W. Her contract with the club was reportedly near $1.5 million per year.

Jackson also seemed to suggest that his league could be an alternative to going abroad

“America’s women athletes should not be forced to spend their off seasons playing in often dismal and dubious foreign countries just to make ends meet,” he wrote. Although it’s unclear whether or not the rapper intends to make offers to additional WNBA players. 

While the league does hold prioritization rules in its CBA, those typically apply only to players playing in overseas leagues. It’s unclear whether or not that would prevent Clark’s participation in the Big3 league.

WNBA players that don’t want to go overseas currently have the option of playing in Athletes Unlimited, which competes in the WNBA offseason.

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