Dubai Hosts Globe Soccer Awards 2025: Candidates Announced, Voting Open

The Globe Soccer Awards opened public voting for its 16th edition, set to take place December 28 at Dubai's Atlantis The Royal hotel. Paris Saint-Germain dominates the nominations after their Champions League triumph, while fans can vote across nine categories until November 27 to determine the finalists.

This year's awards feature 15 categories total, with public voting available for nine of them. The first voting round runs until November 27 to select the final shortlists. A second voting round from December 3-11 will determine the winners, combining fan votes with decisions from a jury panel that includes football legends like Marcello Lippi, Francesco Totti, Iker Casillas, and Luis Figo.

Fans can vote for best male player, best female player, best men's club, best women's club, best coach, best midfielder, best striker, best emerging player, and best Middle East player.

Paris Saint-Germain leads the nominations after a stellar season that saw them win the Champions League, European Super Cup, French league, and French Cup. Eight PSG players who won the Champions League appear on the best male player shortlist, while other club stars compete for midfielder, striker, and emerging player awards.

The 25-name best male player list includes last year's winner Vinicius Junior, plus Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal, Harry Kane, and Mohamed Salah. Barcelona's Aitana Bonmati aims for her third consecutive best female player award among 25 nominees, including her Barcelona teammates and five players from England's Euro 2025-winning squad.

Arsenal, the women's Champions League winners, faces six other clubs for best women's club. The men's club category features Paris Saint-Germain alongside Saudi Arabia's Al-Ahli, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Liverpool, Napoli, Flamengo, and Pyramids.

The best coach shortlist includes prominent names like Luis Enrique (PSG), Enzo Maresca (Chelsea), Arne Slot (Liverpool), Antonio Conte (Napoli), Vincent Kompany (Bayern Munich), Hansi Flick (Barcelona), Roberto Martinez (Portugal), Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Mikel Arteta (Arsenal), and Eddie Howe (Newcastle United).

For best Middle East player, Cristiano Ronaldo competes against Salem Al-Dosari, Karim Benzema, Roberto Firmino, N'Golo Kante, Riyad Mahrez, and Ivan Toney.

Globe Soccer founder and CEO Tommaso Bendoni expressed excitement about Dubai hosting the event for the 16th year, noting how the city has established itself as a global platform for major sporting events. He said this year's ceremony will feature new recognition for football's top stars.

Alongside the Globe Soccer Awards, La Liga will honor its 2024-2025 season winners. Raphinha earned best player, Hansi Flick best coach, and Lamine Yamal best emerging player. Luka Sucic won best goal while Jan Oblak took best save.