The UEFA Best Player in Europe Award is an association football award given to the footballer playing for a football club in Europe that is considered the best in the previous season. The award, created in 2011 by UEFA, is aimed at reviving the European Footballer of the Year Award (Ballon d'Or),[1][2] which was merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year Award in 2010 to become the FIFA Ballon d'Or.[3] It also replaced the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year award.[4]
The inaugural award was won by Lionel Messi in 2011.[5] Cristiano Ronaldo, Andrés Iniesta and Messi were shortlisted for the 2012 award, which was won by Andrés Iniesta.[6][7] Franck Ribéry beat out fellow finalists Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, both of whom made the final three in each of the three years that the competition was held, to win the 2013 award.[8][9]
In 2013 UEFA announced the UEFA Best Women’s Player in Europe Award, a parallel award for women's association football players.[10]
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CRITERIA
According to UEFA, the award "recognise[s] the best player, irrespective of his nationality, playing for a football club within the[b] territory of a UEFA member association during the previous season[/b]."[1] Players are judged by their performances in all competitions, domestic and international, and at club and national team levels throughout the season.[1]
Voting[edit]


OUR OWN

The African Footballer of the Year award, presented to the best African football (soccer) player each year, has been conferred by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) since 1992. An earlier African Footballer of the Year Golden Ball award was given out between 1970 and 1994 by France Football magazine. The changes resulted in parallel Golden Ball awards given out to Abedi Pelé and George Weah in 1993[1] and 1994[2] by the magazine although the CAF sponsored awards for those years were won respectively by Rashidi Yekini and Emmanuel Amuneke, as well as two awards given to Abedi Pelé in 1992.[3] France Football discontinued the election from 1995 after the European Ballon d'Or - also awarded by the magazine, had been opened to all players in the European leagues.[4]
On 2 February 2008, Sevilla FC's Frédéric Kanouté was named the 2007 African Footballer of the Year. Kanouté is the first European-born player to win the award (Kanouté plays for his father's native country of Mali).[5][


why cant we recognize footballers that play in Africa and give them this award, is there no football league in the whole of Africa? Are there no outstanding players in African leagues worthy of the award. How can football be promoted in African when we can even deem it fit to recognise our own players. Are the following footballers, Messi, Ronaldo, rivaldo and ronaldinho and from Europe that they won European footballer of the year? AFRICANS SHOULD WAKE UP AND ENCOURAGE THEIR OWN.

OP.... list five good local players from from five local leagues in five different countries in Africa... when Africans invests in their eague the way Europe invests in theirs. Things will change.