The Best FIFA Football Awards, the premier annual awards celebration held by football’s world governing body, today announced two panels to decide shortlisted candidates for the Best FIFA Men’s and Women’s Players and Coaches for the 2017/18 season.

The men’s panel includes legends Ronaldo, Fabio Capello and Frank Lampard, while stars Mia Hamm, Sun Wen and former New Zealand international Maia Jackman form part of the women’s panel.

Oceania Player of the Century Wynton Rufer is part of the Men’s Judging Panel, while OFC Technical Director Patrick Jacquemet joined Jackman on the Women’s Judging Panel.

The judges will shortlist ten candidates for each category, which will be unveiled on 23 July 2018 – with a public vote opening on the same day. Football fans, national team captains, head coaches and more than 200 media representatives will then cast their votes to decide who will be crowned the best players and coaches in the men’s and women’s games from last season.

With the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ currently showcasing the finest footballing talent on the planet, the race for the Best FIFA Football Awards is even more intense and the showpiece event will take on added significance when it returns to London for a second time on 24 September 2018.

At last year’s awards, Cristiano Ronaldo picked up the Best Men’s Player Award, the Netherlands’ Lieke Martens was crowned Best Women’s Player, French icon Zinédine Zidane was named Best Men’s Coach and the Netherlands’ Sarina Wiegman was Best Women’s Coach.

Separate panels will shortlist candidates for the Best FIFA Goalkeeper Award, the FIFA Puskás Award and the FIFA Fan Award, with the winner of the Best FIFA Goalkeeper Award chosen by a panel of FIFA Legends.

In recognition and celebration of the essential role played by football fans in the game, the FIFA Fan Award, an appreciation of memorable moments created by fans, is voted for by supporters. The FIFA Puskás Award, handed out to the player judged to have scored the best goal of the year, is also determined by fans’ votes.

The voting process for the men’s and women’s awards will open on 23 July and close on 10 August.

FIFA will announce the final lists of the three nominees for each of the four categories listed above – as well as for the FIFA Puskás Award, the FIFA Fan Award and the Best FIFA Goalkeeper Award – in September.

For more information on the voting process for each of The Best FIFA Football Awards, see the Rules of Allocation.

To keep up with the latest news about The Best FIFA Football Awards™, visit fifa.com/fifafootballawards, facebook.com/fifafootballawards or the FIFA TV YouTube page.

Join the discussion about who should win this year’s prizes by using the hashtag #TheBest.

BEST FIFA MEN’S JUDGING PANEL

Sami Al-Jaber (KSA)
Cha Bum-kun (KOR)
Didier Drogba (CIV)
Kaka (BRA)
Wynton Rufer (NZL)
Frank Lampard (ENG)
Fabio Capello (ITA)
Carlos Alberto Parreira (BRA)
Alessandro Nesta (ITA)
Lothar Matthaus (GER)
Emmanuel Amunike (NGA)
Ronaldo (BRA)
Andy Roxburgh (SCO)

BEST FIFA WOMEN’S JUDGING PANEL

Belinda Wilson (AUS)
Sun Wen (CHN)
Jacky Shipanga (NAM)
Clementine Toure (CIV)
Mia Hamm (USA)
Andrea Rodebaugh (MEX)
Sissi (BRA)
Diego Guacci (CHL)
Patrick Jacquemet (FRA)
Maia Jackman (NZL)
Anna Signeul (SWE)
Nadine Kessler (GER)

FIFA PUSKÁS AWARD JUDGING PANEL

Alex Scott (ENG)
Miroslav Klose (GER)
David Trezeguet (FRA)
Aline Pellegrino (BRA)
Iker Casillas (ESP)
Marco van Basten (NED)
Pablo Aimar (ARG)

BEST FIFA GOALKEEPER AWARD JUDGING PANEL

Vítor Baia (POR)
Peter Schmeichel (DEN)
Jorge Campos (MEX)
Gordon Banks (ENG)
Rinat Dasayev (RUS)
Mark Schwarzer (AUS)
Rene Higuita (COL)
Diego Forlan (URU)
Frederic Kanoute (MLI)
Alessandro Altobelli (ITA)

*Strikers and goalkeepers represented

FAN AWARD JUDGING PANEL

Homare Sawa (JPN)
Christie Pearce Rampone (USA)
Cafu (BRA)
Lucas Radebe (RSA)
Christian Karembeu (FRA)
Bora Milutinovic (SRB)
Lindsay Tarpley-Snow (USA)