Abby Wambach is Not FIFA Women’s Player of the Year
And that’s a very good thing for women’s football. Abby would almost certainly agree with me.
In her introductory video, it was easy to appreciate the graciousness with which Abby Wambach spoke about the importance of growing the sport, and the suggestion that some of her teammates were far more deserving of a nomination for FIFA Women’s Player of the Year. When Nadine Keßler was announced as the winner, she walked up to receive the award with tears threatening to fall, and no one seemed more genuinely excited than Wambach, whose eyes lit up as she smiled and cheered Keßler on.
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To followers of men’s football, this reaction might seem a little strange. But for fans of the women’s game, it’s almost a familiar sight. Many would note that it’s not really technical skill or fan interest that divides men and women’s football. It’s rather the camaraderie that so often characterizes it, as well as the fact that high quality play is so readily available even without huge sponsorship deals or monstrous salaries.
This is not to say that there isn’t fierce and sometimes vicious competition, to which anyone who’s ever watched a match between the US and Canada can attest. But there’s also a nearly palpable sense of community that is especially evident in moments like this.
While it was wonderful to see Wambach’s authentic joy for Keßler, it was also nice to see FIFA not to screw this up. Well, screw this up any more than it already had. The original list of ten nominees for FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year included standouts like Veró Boquete, Louisa Nécib, and Nahomi Kawasumi, and completely snubbed highly deserving players like Kim Little and Lauren Holiday.
The shortlist for this award (voted on by captains and coaches of all national teams, as well as media representatives) was composed of two perpetual nominees: together, Marta and Abby have won six times in the last eight years. This seeming lack of parity amongst FIFA’s recognition of top players takes place amongst the men as well, leading many to consider it more of a popularity contest than a genuine designation of the best footballer in the world.
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That being said, it was a genuine shock to see someone else get nominated, and ultimately win the trophy. The game is bigger than the personalities of Marta, Abby, or one-time nominee Alex Morgan, and to see the award go to someone who so truly deserved the title feels like the mark of a new era. Keßler’s win, along with Stephanie Roche’s Puska nomination, gave this ceremony a measure of legitimacy and authenticity that it may have otherwise lacked, particularly in light of FIFA’s frequent show of disdain toward international women’s football.
Abby Wambach has been the name and face most associated with women’s soccer in the US over the past several decades, second only to Mia Hamm in terms of the legacy and imprint she’s had on the sport in this country. The 5’11 striker will turn 35 this summer, as she hopes to help the US secure a long-elusive third World Cup title.
There’s ample debate about whether or not Abby Wambach should still be playing full matches, or even starting on a loaded US roster with great depth at the forward position. The answers are fairly obvious (no, and no), but whenever the world’s leading international goal scorer decides to hang up her boots, she’ll leave the game in a very different state than it was when she arrived.
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