FIFA Best: Super Eagles Coach Eguavoen Sparks Reactions After Voting List for Award Surfaces

FIFA Best: Super Eagles Coach Eguavoen Sparks Reactions After Voting List for Award Surfaces

  • FIFA hosted its annual The Best Award on December 17, 2024, at Doha in Qatar to celebrate football superstars
  • Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr got consolation for his Ballon d'Or loss by winning the Men's Best Footballer
  • Super Eagles head coach Augustine Eguavoen has landed in hot waters after his top three votes emerged online

Super Eagles head Augustine Eguavoen has attracted the unwanted reaction of football fans after his votes for FIFA The Best Men's Player of the Year emerged.

FIFA The Beat Award is voted for by coaches and captains of national teams, football fans and journalists and was introduced in 2016 when it was separated from the Ballon d'Or.

Carlo Ancelotti, Florentino Perez, Vinicius Jr, Real Madrid, FIFA Awards, Aspire Academy, Doha, Qatar.
Vinicius Jr poses with Real Madrid President Florentino Perez and head coach Carlo Ancelotti after winning FIFA The Best Men's Player of the Year Award. Photo by Christopher Pike.
Source: Getty Images

As noted by FIFA, Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr was named the Player of the Year after accumulating the most votes, beating Manchester City star Rodri, who won the Ballon d'Or.

Fans slam Eguavoen for his votes

Read also

Vinicius sets eyes on winning Ballon d'Or after clinching FIFA The Best Award

FIFA published a document detailing how the captain and coaches of national teams voted, and Super Eagles head coach Eguavoen’s votes caught the fans’ attention.

Eguavoen voted for Lionel Messi in number one, Vinicius Jr in number two, and Rodri in number three. It was his number one vote for Lionel Messi that attracted criticism.

@Kundoni177 wrote:

“It seems we the fans know more about the game more than the so called "football people". Pathetic”

@BwoyGud wrote:

“People don’t understand what we mean by “year under review” cos what’s Messi doing there??”

@Joeychel wrote:

“Voting Lionel Messi in 2024 is crazy.”

@kobinabafu4 wrote:

“Some people will vote for Messi even if another player scores 100 goals, 95 of them from the halfway line. That's why there'll always be question marks about voting-based awards.”

Messi’s nomination also raised questions from the fans, particularly after a quiet Copa America, even though he was impactful for MLS club Inter Miami. He was nominated ahead of Lautaro Martinez, who had a great year for Argentina and Inter Miami.

Read also

Newly-crowned FIFA Best Vinicius hits gun celebration after goal against Pachuca (Video)

Eguavoen's time as Super Eagles interim head coach is nearing its end, with rumours linking Bruno Labbadia to the job again, having previously walked away from the offer.

Eguavoen Sends Cryptic Message to Libya

YEN.com.gh earlier reported that interim coach Augustine Eguavoen sarcastically thanked the Libyans for "letting us go," criticizing their actions as incomprehensible given football's unifying nature.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria were stranded for approximately 20 hours at Al Abraq Airport in Libya before their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, leading them to forfeit the match on medical advice.

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Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Richard Nutakor avatar

Richard Nutakor (Sports Editor) Richard Nutakor is a digital media enthusiast with over 8 years of working experience in media and digital marketing. He's worked with notable media brands in Ghana like Media General, owners of TV3 Ghana, 3FM, Onua FM & Connect FM. He's also worked with Global Media Alliance as a Digital Account Manager. He obtained a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Ghana in 2016 and a Masters in Brands and Communication Management from the University of Professional Studies, Accra. Email: richard.kekeli@sportsbrief.com

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