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World Cup Awards


At the end of each World Cup final tournament, several awards are attributed to the players and teams which have distinguished from the rest, in different aspects of the game.

There are currently five awards:

The Golden Boot for top goalscorer
The Golden Ball for best player
The Yashin Award for best goalkeeper
The FIFA Fair Play Award for the team with the best record of fair play
The Most Entertaining Team award.

Golden Boot - Top Goalscorers
The Golden Boot (or Golden Shoe) is awarded to the top goalscorer of the World Cup final tournament. The award was introduced at the 1982 World Cup for the first time.

Adidas Golden Ball
The Golden Ball is an award attributed to the most outstanding player of the World Cup final tournament. FIFA announces a shortlist of ten nominees which is then voted by media representatives. The most voted player is elected to win the Golden Ball, the second most voted player wins the Silver Ball and the third most voted player wins the Bronze Ball. Its awarding is shrouded by allegations of being influenced by diplomacy: the three awards have always been won by players from three different nations.

Yashin Award
The Yashin Award is attributed to the best goalkeeper of the World Cup final tournament. The award is named in honour of the late and legendary Russian goalkeeper, Lev Yashin.

FIFA Fair Play Award
The FIFA Fair Play Award is given to the team with the best record of fair play during the World Cup final tournament. Only teams that qualified for the second round are considered.

Most Entertaining Team
The Most Entertaining Team award is attributed to the team that has entertained the public the most, during the World Cup final tournament. It is always decided through public participation in a poll.