The official FIFA awards recognize the achievements and performances from the best of football across the last 12 months, but who will win the big awards at the gala ceremony at La Scala in Milan? Follow RT Sport's live updates.
There will be nine awards handed out, and the FIFA FIFPRO World11 lineups for both the men's and women's games will be announced.
The event will be hosted by former Dutch legend Ruud Gullit, and will feature the best players, coaches and goals from the past footballing year.
We will bring you live updates throughout the evening as the awards are presented in Milan.
23 September 2019
THE BEST FIFA WOMEN'S PLAYER: MEGAN RAPINOE
It had to be Rapinoe, didn't it? After a brilliant World Cup campaign with the United States that saw her finish as the top goalscorer, she was named as the winner ahead of fellow USWNT colleague Alex Morgan and England star Lucy Bronze.
And Rapinoe took the opportunity to call on her fellow football stars to help use their stardom to improve the world for the better. She denounced the racism and homophobia in the game, and said that what would truly inspire her – and others – would be if people other than the victims of the sport's social injustices were outraged at the situation.
She was roundly applauded at the end of her speech as she capped off a memorable year.
THE BEST FIFA WOMEN'S PLAYER
Who is the best women's footballer on the planet? The short list has two members of the United States' World Cup-winning team, plus England's standout player.
- Lucy Bronze (Lyon and England)
- Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride and USA)
- Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign and USA)
THE BEST FIFA MEN'S PLAYER: LIONEL MESSI
Messi takes the award for the best men's player in the world, and the honor of being the best player on the planet today.
The little Argentinian wizard led Barcelona to a dominant La Liga season, as Barca finished 11 points clear of Atletico Madrid at the top of the table.
And while Barca didn't make it all the way in the UEFA Champions League, Messi nonetheless stood out as one of the top performers in Europe's premier club competition, as he finished as the competition's top scorer with 12 goals last season.
Ronaldo had a stellar season, and Van Dijk's accomplishments as a defender aren't as easily quantified by statistics, but all three players had huge seasons for their respective clubs.
But, when asked who was the best player in the world last year, most of the panelists said Messi. And that's a pretty hard opinion to argue with.
"WE HAVE TO SAY NO TO RACISM"
FIFA president Gianni Infantino interrupts his award announcement by stating that the time has come for football to kick racism out of football.
He cited another example of racism in football from a recent Italian league match, and said it was time the sport stopped saying things and started to take firm action.
I guess all we can do now is see just what FIFA actually does. Racism has sadly remained a part of the game for years, and paltry fines have done little to stop it.
Will FIFA finally act with strong punishments and back up Infantino's words? Watch this space...
THE BEST FIFA MEN'S PLAYER
No surprises with the nominations here Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi get nominated so often they probably have their own parking space at this point. Joining them is the defensive colossus from Liverpool, Virgil Van Dijk.
Will the goalscoring superstars shine through again, or will a defender get the accolade of the world's best player in 2019?
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus and Portugal)
- Lionel Messi (Barcelona and Argentina)
- Virgil Van Dijk (Liverpool and Netherlands)
THE FIFA FIFPRO MEN'S WORLD11
GOALKEEPER
Alisson Becker (Brazil, Liverpool)
DEFENDERS
Virgil van Dijk (The Netherlands, Liverpool)
Matthijs de Ligt (The Netherlands, Ajax/currently Juventus)
Marcelo (Brazil, Real Madrid)
Sergio Ramos (Spain, Real Madrid)
MIDFIELDERS
Eden Hazard (Belgium, Chelsea/currently Real Madrid)
Frenkie de Jong (The Netherlands, Ajax/currently Barcelona)
Luka Modric (Croatia, Real Madrid)
FORWARDS
Kylian Mbappe (France, Paris Saint-Germain)
Lionel Messi (Argentina, Barcelona)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Juventus)
THE BEST FIFA WOMEN'S COACH: JILL ELLIS
England's Phil Neville and Holland's Sarina Wiegman were both nominated for the award, but there could really be only one winner.
Jill Ellis has achieved wonderful things with the United States Women's National Team. The English coach moved Stateside to pursue her dream of a career in The Beautiful Game, and eventually worked her way up to become the head coach of the United States team.
And with a healthy mix of established stars and vibrant young players, the team went on to produce a thrilling tournament as they won the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup earlier this summer.
A deserved winner after an incredible year.
THE BEST FIFA MEN'S GOALKEEPER: ALISSON BECKER
Liverpool's Brazilian custodian had a phenomenal year last year as his calm presence behind the back four helped give the Red the stability in defense that led to one of their most successful seasons in years.
With Alisson between the sticks, Liverpool battled neck and neck with Manchester City all the way to the final weekend of the Premier League season. And while his team fell agonizingly short on the final day, they picked themselves up and captured the UEFA Champions League.
Now the big Brazilian has been honored with an individual award as he is officially recognized as the world's best goalkeeper over the last year.
THE BEST FIFA MEN'S GOALKEEPER
The honor of being the top stopper in men's football is a keenly-contested category in 2019, with a pair of Brazilian Premier League aces, plus a Catalunya-based German. But who will catch this award?
- Alisson Becker (Liverpool and Brazil)
- Ederson (Manchester City and Brazil)
- Marc Andre Ter Stegen (Barcelona and Germany)
FIFA FIFPRO WOMEN'S WORLD11
GOALKEEPER
Sari van Veendaal (The Netherlands, Arsenal/currently Atletico)
DEFENDERS
Lucy Bronze (England, Olympique Lyonnais)
Nilla Fischer (Sweden, VfL Wolfsburg/currently Linkopings)
Kelly O’Hara (USA, Utah Royals)
Wendie Renard (France, Olympique Lyonnais)
MIDFIELDERS
Julie Ertz (USA, Chicago Red Stars)
Amandine Henry (France, Olympique Lyonnais)
Rose Lavelle (USA, Washington Spirit)
FORWARDS
Alex Morgan (USA, Orlando Pride)
Megan Rapinoe (USA, Reign FC)
Marta Vieria (Brazil, Orlando Pride)
After a very awkward interview between hosts Ilaria D'Amico, Ruud Gullit and former AC Milan coach Fabio Capello, we seem to be in an intermission as a troupe of opera singers has appeared on stage.
THE FIFA FAIR PLAY AWARD: MARCELO BIELSA
The Fair Play award was awarded to Leeds United and their boss Marcelo Bielsa, who ordered his team to allow Aston Villa to equalize after his team had taken advantage of an injured player to score a goal in their Championship match last season.
Bielsa's selection for the Fair Play award is particularly controversial because he was implicated in the infamous "Spygate" scandal in English football after admitting spying on opposition training sessions. Yet FIFA still felt he was worthy of the "Fair Play" award.
Perhaps the selection of Bielsa was a reason why FIFA didn't publish a list of nominees for this particular award.
He wasn't able to attend the result in person, but it didn't stop him from giving a very lengthy speech via a message read to the crowd by one of his coaches.
THE BEST FIFA WOMEN'S GOALKEEPER: SARI VAN VEENENDAAL
The Dutch stopper takes the award, and pays tribute to her teammates past and present as she humbly accepts the award as the best goalkeeper in the world.
Van Veenendaal reached the final of the World Cup with the Netherlands, but her displays across the tournament were good enough to see her win the Golden Glove award.
Now, after a stellar year, she has been given the historic honor of being the inaugural winner of The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper award.
THE BEST FIFA WOMEN'S GOALKEEPER
Goalkeepers are people too, and they often don't get treated the same as their outfield counterparts when it comes to awards and honors. So FIFA has looked to redress the balance with goalkeeper-specific awards.
Here are the nominees for the women's goalkeeper of the year...
- Christine Endler (PSG and Chile)
- Hedvig Lindahl (Wolfsburg and Sweden)
- Sari Van Veenendaal (Atletico Madrid and Netherlands)
THE FIFA FAN AWARD: SILVIA GREGGO
Greggo is certainly a deserving winner of the award. Her son Nikollas is autistic and is blind, but she doesn't let that stop him, or them, enjoying football together.
They go to matches together, where they support their favorite club, Palmeiras. While there, she provides special match commentary for her son as they experience the games together.
Speaking to FIFA.com before the awards, Greggo explained: “I’ll describe the details of the environment, the characteristics of each player. Narrating the goal is the most exciting part, I have no doubt about that.
"At the stadium is complete freedom, he is transformed. He feels at ease, stands up, cheers and jumps. Nikollas becomes another child. I am the eyes of Nikollas.”
THE FIFA FAN AWARD
The nominees for this special fan award have made a special contribution to the game over the past year.
- Silvia Greggo
- Fans of the Netherlands at the FIFA Women's World Cup
- Justo Sanchez
THE BEST FIFA MEN'S COACH: JURGEN KLOPP
Liverpool's Klopp had an outstanding season for the Anfield side, leading them to match Manchester City stride-for-stride in the Premier League, while taking the club to new heights in the UEFA Champions League, where they won their sixth European Cup.
The German coach's affable personality, hard-running, exciting footballing style and clear drive to succeed has made him one of the most engaging personalities in the English game, and he is named the best men's coach of the year, pipping Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola and Tottenham head coach Mauricio Pochettino in an all-Premier League lineup.
THE BEST FIFA MEN'S COACH
Here are the nominees for the FIFA men's coach of the year award...
- Pep Guardiola (Manchester City)
- Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
- Mauricio Pochettino (Tottenham Hotspur)
PUSKAS AWARD WINNER: DANIEL ZSORI
Speaking to FIFA.com, Award-winner Zsori described his goal as an off-the-cuff moment where he just thought he would try his luck.
"Adam Bodi crossed the ball into the penalty box and I just thought: 'Why not have a go?' I’d practised the move plenty of times in my training sessions and copied it from my idol Cristiano Ronaldo. I held my breath for a moment as the ball flew towards the goal."
It paid off, as his superbly-timed bicycle kick flew into the Ferencvaros net. His goal was voted onto the shortlist for the Puskas Award by via a fan vote, and was named the winner of the Puskas Award for 2019.
FIRST UP: THE PUSKAS AWARD
The Puskas Award is presented each year to the scorer of the best goal of the year.
This year, the three nominees are as follows:
- Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
- Juanfer Quintero (River Plate)
- Daniel Zsori (Debrechen)
WHO WILL WALK AWAY WITH THE BIG AWARD OF THE NIGHT?
Will it be Barcelona's Lionel Messi, Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo, or Liverpool's Virgil Van Dijk?
WELCOME TO MILAN
We're being treated to a beautiful display of ballet at the famed La Scala in Milan as the night's festivities get underway at The Best FIFA Football Awards 2019.
We will see a host of awards handed out over the course of the evening, and we'll be here to talk you through it all.