FIFA World Cup Awards List
The FIFA World Cup is the largest tournament in the realm of international football (soccer) along with international sports as a whole. The tournament takes place every four years and gives countries from around the globe the chance to showcase their best football players at the highest level. With all of the talent on display throughout the tournament, numerous awards are given out to reward deserving teams and players. These awards cover areas such as best player, top scorer, best goalkeeper, top young player, and teams that display the highest level of fair play.
What are the awards and trophies for the FIFA World Cup?
Golden Ball
The Golden Ball Award is given to the top player in the FIFA World Cup Finals. To select the recipient of the Golden Ball, the FIFA technical committee curates a list of the best players in the finals and members of the media vote to determine who is given the award.
While no player has been awarded the Golden Ball more than once, Brazil leads all countries with seven Golden Ball recipients in FIFA World Cup history. The most recent Golden Ball was awarded to Lionel Messi of Argentina at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Golden Boot
The Golden Boot Award is given to the player who scores the most goals throughout the FIFA World Cup Tournament. If two players have scored the same number of goals at the conclusion of the tournament, the Golden Boot is given to the player who played for a shorter period of time. In other words, the player that averaged more goals per time of play.
Brazil also leads all countries with the most Golden Boot recipients. Five different Brazilians have won the Golden Boot while Germany trails in second place with three total award recipients. Out of all the players that have been given the Golden Boot, Just Fontaine of France leads with 13 goals in a single World Cup Tournament. Sándor Kocsis of Hungary racked up 11 goals in the 1954 tournament and Gerd Müller followed closely behind with 10 goals in the 1970 FIFA World Cup.
Golden Glove
The Golden Glove Award is given to the best goalie in the FIFA World Cup Tournament. The FIFA Technical Study Group is responsible for selecting the recipient of this award. While the best goalkeeper of the World Cup has been chosen since the tournament began in 1930, the award did not become known as the ‘Golden Glove’ until 2010. It was previously known as the Lev Yashin Award from 1994 to 2006. Goalkeepers also have the opportunity to win the Golden Ball Award if they have an outstanding performance in the finals match. Oliver Kahn of Germany was awarded both the Golden Glove and Golden Ball awards in the 2002 tournament.
Best Young Player Award
The Best Young Player Award is given to the top player in the tournament aged 21 or younger. This award was first introduced in 2006 and has been given out at every World Cup Tournament since. Similar to the Golden Glove, the Best Young Player Award recipient is decided upon by the FIFA Technical Study Group.
The first recipient of this award in the 2006 tournament was Lukas Podolski of Germany. Podolski played in seven matches and scored three goals. Although the award was not the same at the time, Pele of Brazil was only 17 years old when he scored six goals in only four matches. Pele would have been the youngest player in history to receive the Best Young Player Award.
FIFA Fair Play Trophy
The FIFA Fair Play Trophy is awarded to the team that displays the highest level of fair play or sportsmanship throughout the tournament. Teams must make it to the second round of play to be considered for the trophy. The team that is selected earns the FIFA Fair Play Trophy along with a special diploma. Each player on the team also is given a medal and $50,000 of equipment to put towards youth football advancement.
The FIFA Fair Play Trophy was first introduced in 1970 and awarded to Peru. Since then, Brazil, Spain, and England have each won the trophy multiple times. The trophy can also be awarded to more than one team. England and France both won the honor in 1998 while Brazil and Spain both were awarded in 2006.