Public to vote for Fifa award

Fifa will allow the public to vote in a rebranded version of its player of the year of the award, world soccer’s governing body said yesterday.

The annual ceremony in Zurich, which until last year was jointly organised with France Football and known as the Ballon d’Or, would be renamed “The Best Fifa Football Awards” after a split with the French magazine.

Under the new system, half the votes will belong to players and coaches of the world’s 211 national teams and half to the public, via an online ballot, and selected media representatives.