Nomination and Selection Process
Following criticism from some sections of the media over some questionable nominations in previous years, in 2004 FIFA drew up a short list of 35 men and 21 women from which national team managers and, for the first time, team captains and representatives from FIFPro (the worldwide representative organisation for professional players) could vote.
Another criticism brought up against the men's nominations was that no player in activity outside of Europe was ever nominated for the award. Juan Román Riquelme was the only player nominated for the annual award who played for a team outside Europe within the year, on loan to Boca Juniors from Villarreal for the first half of 2007. Although players from several nationalities, of three continents, were nominated and won the award, they were all playing for European clubs at the time of their nomination or victory.
It was also suggested that players active in the leagues of other top non-European nations (such as the Argentine, the Brazilian or the Mexican Leagues), were generally overlooked for the award. Brazilian club teams won the first three editions of the FIFA Club World Cup, yet not one player from those teams was nominated for the men's world player of the year award, whereas the European champions that the Brazilian club teams beat in the last two finals had more than a few players nominated for the award.
Read more about this topic: FIFA World Player Of The Year
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