Ryan Giggs, Joao Felix Headed To Dubai Globe Soccer Awards

Atletico Madrid star Joao Felix and football legends Ryan Giggs and Miralem Pjanic will be among the star footballers in attendance at the 11th annual Dubai Globe Soccer Awards, organisers announced on Wednesday.

The ceremony – organised in partnership with Dubai Sports Council – is taking place at Madinat Jumeirah on December 29.

Four players have been shortlisted for the highly coveted Best Men’s Player of the Year award: Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah.

Other guests at the event will include English football star Lucy Bronze, who led French club Olympique Lyonnais to victory in the Women’s Championship League earlier this year. She is nominated as Best Women’s Player of the Year.

Other confirmed attendees include former Manchester United player Mikael Silvestre, Inter Milan’s Romelu Lukaku, French national team manager Didier Deschamps, SS Lazio coach Simone Inzaghi, Sara Gama from Juventus and Amandine Henry from Olympique Lyonnaise.

The eventual winners will be chosen by the Dubai Globe Soccer Jury, a panel of leading industry experts including Fabio Capello, Antonio Conte, Eric Abidal and Luis Figo.

The day before the wards, the Dubai Sports Council will hold the 14th edition of the Dubai International Sports Conference, where speakers will include club owners, coaches, players and sponsors.

ITP Live is a strategic partner of the event, alongside title Koora. Other supporters include 7tickets, Al Nabooda, Audi, Emirates, Hublot, Infront, Lavazza, Abu Dhabi Media and Dubai Sports Channel.

So far, the organisers have unveiled the finalists for eight of the 15 awards that will be presented on the night:

Best Men's Player of the Year Finalists: Juventus F.C.’s Cristiano Ronaldo, FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Liverpool F.C.’s Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah.

Best Women's Player of the Year Finalists: US national soccer team’s Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe, alongside Olympique Lyonnais’ Lucy Bronze and Amandine Henry.

Best Coach of the Year Finalists: AFC Ajax’s Erik Ten Hag, Portugal’s Fernando Santos and Liverpool F.C.’s Jurgen Klopp  

Best Revelation Player Finalists: Erling Haaland, a striker for Austrian football club Red Bull Salzburg and the Norway national team; Jadon Sancho who plays for Germany’s Borussia Dortmund and the England national team; Joao Felix from Spanish club Atlético Madrid who also plays for Portugal’s national team; and Anssumane "Ansu" Fati Vieira who plays as a left winger for Spanish club FC Barcelona.

Best Sporting Director Finalists: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid), Eric Abidal (FC Barcelona), Igli Tare (S.S. Lazio) and Marc Overmars (AFC Ajax).

Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness Finalists: FC Barcelona and Beko; Liverpool F.C. and Standard Chartered; and Manchester City F.C. and SAP.

Kooora – Best Arab Player Award Finalists: Abderazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia), Akram Afif (Al Sadd SC, Qatar), Salem Aldossari (Al Hilal SFC, Saudi Arabia), Tareq Hamed (Zamalek SC, Egypt) and Youcef Belaili (Al-Ahli Saudi FC, Saudi Arabia)

Kooora – Best Arab Club Award Finalists: Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal SFC and Al-Nassr FC; Tunisia’s Espérance ST, Morocco’s Wydad AC and Egypt’s Zamalek SC