FIFA Puskás Award Facts for Kids

The FIFA Puskás Award is a special prize given by FIFA (which stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association). It was created on October 20, 2009, by the then-president, Sepp Blatter. This award celebrates the player who scores the "most beautiful" or "most amazing" goal of the year.

The award is named after Ferenc Puskás, a legendary football player from Hungary. He was a fantastic striker for Real Madrid in the 1950s and 1960s. Puskás was also a key player in Hungary's famous "Golden Team." Many people think he was one of Europe's best goal scorers ever. He scored an incredible 806 goals in 793 games! His 86 goals for his national team in 90 games was a world record at the time.

When the award was first started, Sepp Blatter said it was important to remember great football players like Puskás. He said Puskás was not only a very talented player but also a wonderful person.

At first, fans voted for the winner on FIFA's website. But after 2018, FIFA changed how the winner is chosen. Now, football experts picked by FIFA make the final decision. They choose from the top three goals that fans voted for.

The very first Puskás Award was given for goals scored between July 2008 and July 2009. It was presented on December 21, 2009, in Switzerland. The first player to win was Cristiano Ronaldo from Portugal.

Lionel Messi has been nominated for the FIFA Puskás Award more than anyone else. He has been nominated 7 times (in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019). Even with so many nominations, he has never won the award. He came closest in 2011, 2015, and 2019, finishing second.

The award has been won by many different players. Some are famous superstars, and others are not as well-known. This shows that amazing goals can come from any level of football.

Since 2024, only male players can win the Puskás Award. A new award, the FIFA Marta Award, was created specifically for female players. It's named after Marta, a famous Brazilian female football star.

How Goals Are Chosen

To win the Puskás Award, a goal needs to be:

An "absolutely beautiful goal." This means it should be amazing to watch! It could be a long shot, a great team goal, a fancy move like a rabona or an overhead kick, or a brilliant individual play.
Chosen fairly, no matter which league, gender, or country the player is from.
Not a lucky goal. It shouldn't be because of a mistake, a deflection, or if the player was in an offside position.
Scored by a player who showed good sportsmanship. The player should not have behaved badly in the game or been involved in things like doping.
A player can only be nominated for one goal each year.

Past Winners

Here are the players who have won the FIFA Puskás Award:

2009 Winner

Cristiano Ronaldo won the first Puskás Award for his amazing long-range goal.

Winner: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) for Manchester United against Porto in the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League. It was a powerful shot from 40 yards away!

2010 Winner

Winner: Hamit Altıntop (Turkey) for the Turkish national team against Kazakhstan in a Euro 2012 qualification match.

2011 Winner

Winner: Neymar (Brazil) for Santos against Flamengo in the 2011 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A.

2012 Winner

Winner: Miroslav Stoch (Slovakia) for Fenerbahçe against Gençlerbirliği in the 2011–12 Süper Lig.

2013 Winner

Zlatan Ibrahimović won for his incredible overhead kick.

Winner: Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden) for the Swedish national team against England in an international friendly. He scored with an amazing 35-yard overhead kick!

2014 Winner

James Rodríguez's fantastic volley won the award.

Winner: James Rodríguez (Colombia) for the Colombian national team against Uruguay in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. His volley was called "one of the greatest goals the World Cup has ever seen."

2015 Winner

Winner: Wendell Lira (Brazil) for Goianésia against Atlético Goianiense in the 2015 Campeonato Goiano.

2016 Winner

Winner: Mohd Faiz Subri (Malaysia) for Penang against Pahang in the 2016 Malaysia Super League.

2017 Winner

Olivier Giroud's "scorpion kick" goal was a memorable winner.

Winner: Olivier Giroud (France) for Arsenal against Crystal Palace in the 2016–17 Premier League. He scored with a fantastic backheeled "scorpion kick" volley.

2018 Winner

Winner: Mohamed Salah (Egypt) for Liverpool against Everton in the 2017–18 Premier League.

2019 Winner

Winner: Dániel Zsóri (Hungary) for Debrecen against Ferencváros in the 2018–19 Nemzeti Bajnokság I.

2020 Winner

Winner: Son Heung-min (South Korea) for Tottenham Hotspur against Burnley in the 2019–20 Premier League.

2021 Winner

Winner: Erik Lamela (Argentina) for Tottenham Hotspur against Arsenal in the 2020–21 Premier League.

2022 Winner

Winner: Marcin Oleksy (Poland) for Warta Poznań against Stal Rzeszów in the 2022 PZU Amp Futbol Ekstraklasa. This was a special goal scored by an amputee footballer.

2023 Winner

Winner: Guilherme Madruga (Brazil) for Botafogo-SP against Novorizontino in the 2023 Campeonato Brasileiro Série B.

2024 Winner

Winner: Alejandro Garnacho (Argentina) for Manchester United against Everton in the 2023–24 Premier League.

Countries with Most Wins

Country	Wins	Years
Brazil	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&03.&&&&&03	2011, 2015, 2023
Argentina	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&02.&&&&&02	2021, 2024
Portugal	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&01.&&&&&01	2009
Turkey	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&01.&&&&&01	2010
Slovakia	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&01.&&&&&01	2012
Sweden	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&01.&&&&&01	2013
Colombia	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&01.&&&&&01	2014
Malaysia	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&01.&&&&&01	2016
France	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&01.&&&&&01	2017
Egypt	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&01.&&&&&01	2018
Hungary	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&01.&&&&&01	2019
South Korea	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&01.&&&&&01	2020
Poland	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&01.&&&&&01	2022