Back-to-back! OFFICIAL: Bonmati wins The Best FIFA Women’s Player 2024

Back-to-back! OFFICIAL: Bonmati wins The Best FIFA Women’s Player 2024

Aitana Bonmati has won The Best FIFA Women's Player award for a second year in a row, adding to her back-to-back Ballon d'Or victories.

The Spain midfielder played a starring role for Barcelona throughout the voting period, which started on August 21, 2023 and concluded on August 10, 2024.

She helped Barca win a league and Champions League double in 2023-24, scoring the opening goal in their 2-0 final victory over Lyon in the latter competition.

She finished with the most goal involvements (11, six goals and five assists) in last season's Champions League, scoring 19 times in 41 appearances across all competitions overall.

Bonmati was also part of the Spain side that followed up their World Cup success by winning the first edition of the Women's Nations League, scoring in the final against France. 

In October, she followed in the footsteps of club and international team-mate Alexia Putellas by winning the Ballon d'Or Feminin in two successive years.

Bonmati was recognised at FIFA's annual awards ceremony in Doha, where Emma Hayes – who left Chelsea to take charge of the United States in May – was named Women's Coach of the Year.

Meanwhile, the first edition of the Marta Award – the equivalent of the Puskas Award handed out in the men's game – went to the trophy's namesake. 

Marta saw off 10 other nominees to triumph with a goal she scored in Brazil's 4-0 friendly win over Jamaica, having shown great individual skill to reach the edge of the area before blasting home with her left foot.

The nominees: 

The shortlist for The Best FIFA Women’s Player 2024 Award has been revealed – and fans can now vote for their standout candidate.

Sixteen sensational players are in contention for the coveted prize, with the nominees selected based on their performances between 21 August 2023 and 10 August 2024.

Here, FIFA shines the spotlight on the contenders’ achievements during the qualifying period.

Barbra Banda

Banda has taken the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) by storm since moving to Orlando Pride from Shanghai Shengli in March 2024. The Zambian striker capped a free-scoring season for her new club with the NWSL championship-winning goal on Saturday, and has also continued to shine at international level. Indeed, Banda broke new ground at the Paris 2024 Women’s Olympic Football Tournament by bagging a hat-trick against Australia. Having also notched two trebles at the Tokyo 2020 Games, this explosive striker became first player to score three hat-tricks in the competition’s history.

Ona Batlle

Batlle’s first season since rejoining hometown club Barcelona proved to be a memorable one. The full-back helped her team to a clean sweep of domestic titles as well as the UEFA Champions League crown. An exceptional defender, she has also made telling contributions in the attacking third, notably scoring in Barça’s Copa de la Reina and Supercopa de Espana Femenina final victories. For Spain, she was a key member of the team which won the UEFA Women’s Nations League and finished fourth at Paris 2024.

Aitana Bonmati

Looking to make it back-to-back award wins, Aitana Bonmati enjoyed another trophy-laden season for both club and country. On target in the final as Spain won the Women’s Nations League, she repeated that feat at club level with Barcelona as they claimed the Women’s Champions League title. Named Player of the Season in the latter, the 26-year-old also helped lead her club side to the domestic treble, winning a slew of further honours along the way.

Lucy Bronze

Bronze’s enduring class was evident throughout Barcelona’s all-conquering campaign. The 33-year-old’s imperious performances in the Women’s Champions League semi-final win over Chelsea and final success against Lyon underlined her ability to deliver when it matters most. The full-back, who remains an important part of the England national team squad, returned to her home country to join Chelsea in July 2024.

Mariona Caldentey

Now plying her trade at Arsenal, Caldentey was another member of the Barça team that dominated domestically and in Europe. A creative forward with outstanding technique, she provided a steady source of goals and assists for the Catalan giants. Caldentey has continued to sparkle at international level, too, and struck La Roja’s second goal in their 2-0 Women’s Nations League final win over France.

Tabitha Chawinga

The Malawian star was in almost unstoppable form for Paris St Germain in 2023/24. A dynamic, clinical striker, Chawinga racked up 19 goals in 21 league matches as her team finished runners-up to Lyon – the club she went on to join in July 2024. She did help PSG win the Coupe de France, however, and scored five times in their run to the Women’s Champions League semi-finals.

Naomi Girma

The first out-and-out defender to be named U.S. Soccer Player of the Year in its 39-year history, Girma was a rock at the back for both club and country. The classy San Diego stopper was also recognised as the NWSL Defender of the Year and elected to the league’s Best XI, although her greatest successes came with the national team. Part of the side that won the Concacaf W Gold Cup in March, the 24-year-old then went on to play every minute as the US won gold at the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament.

Caroline Graham Hansen

A vital part of a Barcelona side that swept all before it, Hansen was a prolific contributor to that success. The 29-year-old was top scorer and the leading assist provider in the club’s league title triumph, while also winning both domestic cups, being named the MVP in the final of the Supercopa de España Femenina. The winger then ended the season on a high as she helped steer the Catalan giants to the Women’s Champions League title.

Lauren Hemp

Hemp was one of Manchester City’s leading lights as the club pushed Chelsea all the way in the race for the Women’s Super League (WSL) title. While they agonisingly missed out on goal difference, the livewire forward’s impressive performances earned her a place in the division’s Team of the Season. Hemp, who is a regular starter for an England side with wealth of elite attacking options, ended the 2023/24 WSL campaign with eight assists – more than any other player.

Lindsey Horan

After winning the French league title and reaching the Women’s Champions League final with Lyon, Horan captained USA to glory at the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament. A supreme midfielder who combines tenacity, technique and tactical intelligence, Horan’s inspiring leadership was also on show throughout the competition. Earlier in the year, she lifted the CONCACAF W Gold Cup title, scoring the winning goal in USA’s 1-0 final victory over Brazil – the same team they went on to beat in the Paris 2024 final.

Salma Paralluelo

The youngest of the nominees, 21-year-old Paralluelo is on a fast track to superstardom. The versatile forward was a key part of the Barcelona side that claimed three domestic titles. That form carried on to the continental stage, where she helped her club win the Women’s Champions League and with the national side as Spain triumphed in the Women’s Nations League final.

Trinity Rodman

Rodman was in the team that downed Brazil in the final to win the Concacaf W Gold Cup in March – and was also a crucial cog in her nation’s Olympic triumph, when they again defeated A Seleção in the gold medal match. The 22-year-old also shone throughout Paris 2024, opening the scoring in two group-stage outings before netting the extra-time winner to sink Japan in the quarter-finals.

Khadija Shaw

In eight weeks at the turn of the year, the prolific Shaw nabbed a hat-trick of hat-tricks for her club side, on the way to joining Sam Kerr as the only non-European players to have won the Golden Boot award in England’s WSL. Her tally of 21 league strikes for Manchester City was also the joint third-highest in a single WSL campaign. That torrent of goals also saw the Jamaican star scoop plenty of individual honours, including the WSL Player of the Season award.

Sophia Smith

Plundering goals for the Portland Thorns, Smith was exactly that in the side of many an opponent as she swept to the NWSL Golden Boot award and a place in the league’s Best XI. At national team level she was perhaps even better, grabbing crucial goals in the semi-finals of two massive tournaments as the Stars and Stripes won the Concacaf W Gold Cup and then gold at Paris 2024.

Mallory Swanson

Swanson’s comeback was one of the most incredible football stories of 2024. A devastating knee injury meant she missed last year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup™ – she was out for 11 months before returning for club team Chicago Red Stars in March. The 26-year-old swiftly forced her way back into the USWNT reckoning and was one of the stars of the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament. Swanson scored four goals in her country’s run to gold, including the decisive strike in their 1-0 final win over Brazil.

Keira Walsh

Walsh continued to showcase her world-class quality for Barcelona. The 27-year-old midfielder produced a series of virtuoso displays as Barça won every major trophy going. One of the first names on the team-sheet for England coach Sarina Wiegman, Walsh’s passing range, composure and ability to dictate the tempo of matches consistently impressed for club and country.