The 1996 FIFA World Player Gala (now called the Best FIFA Football Awards) was an international football award ceremony by the sport's governing body FIFA. Four awards were presented in 1996, the Best FIFA Men's Player, the FIFA Fair Play Award, and the Top Team and Mover of the Year Awards.
Best Player Award: The 1996 winner of the FIFA best player award was Ronaldo. In the same year, the winner of the 1996 Ballon d'Or was Matthias Sammer. The women's award for Best FIFA Women's Player was not awarded until 2001.
Fair Play Award: This award recognizes behavior that promotes the spirit of fair play and compassion. The winner in 1996 was George Weah for demonstrating his love of football and spreading the message of Fair Play around the world. Weah had won the FIFA best player award the previous year.
Team of the Year: The team of the year award is given to the men's national team that finishes on top of the FIFA World Rankings. In 1996, the winner was Brazil. Brazil was the top-ranked team for the years from 1994 until 2006 (except in 2001).
Best Mover of the Year: This award is for the men's team who made the best progress up the FIFA world rankings over the course of the year. The winner in 1996 was South Africa.
Related Pages
- FIFA Awards
- FIFA World Cup Awards
- Best FIFA Men's Player
- FIFA Fair Play Award
- Team & Mover of the Year Awards
- 1996 Ballon d'Or
- 1996 The Year in Sport
- Football Awards Lists