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Salah and Nnadozie were not included in the FIFA Best Men’s and Women’s nominees list released this week.
Earlier this week, the world football governing body, FIFA, released the list of nominees for the FIFA Best Men’s and Women’s awards.
FIFA Best Award Fallout
As expected, the usual suspects like Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, Kevin De Bruyne and Lionel Messi were all nominated in the men’s category, while stars from the FIFA 2023 Women’s World Cup dominated the Women’s list.
But just as with any other award, the list was not without controversy after some players were left out.
In the men’s category, one notable name missing from the list was Liverpool and Egypt star Mohamed Salah, while Nigeria’s star at the FIFA Women’s World Cup Chiamaka Nnadozie was not included in the women’s list.
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17:45 - 14.09.2023
Plumptre laments Nnadozie's absence from FIFA Best Goalkeeper: Al-Ittihad defender reacts on social media
Al-Ittihad defender Ashleigh Plumptre reacts on social media as Chiamaka Nnadozie is excluded from FIFA Best Goalkeeper.
The decision to leave these two players has sparked outrage, but in this piece, we explain why the two players have been left out of the list.
Before we get into the full details, it is important to note the criteria for nomination. For the men’s category, the nomination takes into consideration the performances of players from December 20, 2022, to August 19, 2023.
While their performance on the pitch within this period is a major criterion, players’ conduct off the pitch also played a role in their nomination.
Why were Salah and Nnadozie snubbed from the FIFA Best Awards?
In fairness, in Salah’s case, it is clear to see why the Egyptian was omitted from the nominees list.
Given the period in view was from December 20, 2022, to August 19, 2023, it is hard to argue a case for Salah ahead of the players nominated.
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Although Salah’s numbers were decent last season, he was unlucky to be in a Liverpool side that were out of sorts.
During the period in review, Liverpool crashed out of the Champions League in the second round and the FA Cup in the fourth round.
The Reds also failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League, finishing fifth last season. Although it may seem unfair to blame Salah for Liverpool’s woes last season, it would have been difficult to nominate him ahead of the other players on the list, considering they all had success with their teams.
In Nnadozie’s case, she may feel hard done by the decision, but the truth is other nominees on the list were more deserving.
While Nnadozie was arguably Nigeria’s star at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the Super Falcons’ failure to progress past the round of 16 was a major blow for her.
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14:14 - 11.09.2023
Cheat Code - Michelle Alozie in awe of Super Falcons teammate Nnadozie after heorics vs Arsenal
Nigeria Super Falcons defender Michelle Alozie believes teammate Chiamaka Nnadozie is a GOAT goalkeeper after watching her stop Arsenal in the UWCL.
Four of the goalkeepers nominated helped their country to the semi-final, at least, and were equally if not more impressive than Nnadozie in the same tournament.
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It is also important to note that the period of review for women’s players was from August 1, 2022, to August 20, 2023, meaning the FIFA panel of experts did not only look at the World Cup but also performances at their clubs.
This explains why Lyon's goalkeeper Christiane Endler was nominated after helping her team win the French title ahead of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Nnadozie’s Paris FC.
It would have also been unfair to leave out Sandra Paños García-Villamil, who played a major role in Barcelona’s league and European success last season.
While some may also feel that Nnadozie was omitted because there was no Nigerian on the panel of experts to push her case, that is not true because ex-Super Falcons star Mercy Akide was among the experts who drew up the women’s list.
The good news for Nnadozie, however, is that she has started the season well and could be in the conversation next year.
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