POSTED: Tuesday October 20th 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FIFA introduces new FIFA Puskás Award to honour the "goal of the year"

The FIFA Puskás Award, created in honour and in memory of Ferenc Puskás, the captain and star of the Hungarian national team during the 1950s.

Mrs Erzsébet Puskás,     the widow of legendary Hungarian footballer Ferenc Puskás, who passed away     in November 2006, and FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter announced the     introduction of the FIFA Puskás Award during a press conference held at     the Ferenc     Puskás Football Academy     in Felcsút     (Hungary) on Tuesday, 20     October.

The FIFA Puskás Award, created in honour     and in memory of Ferenc Puskás, the captain and star of the Hungarian     national team during the 1950s, will be inaugurated in December during the     2009 FIFA World Player Gala and presented to the player – man or woman –     who has scored the “most beautiful goal” during the past year.    

“It is important to preserve the memory of     those footballing greats who have left their mark on our history. Ferenc     Puskás was not only a player with immense talent who won many honours, but     also a remarkable man. FIFA is therefore delighted to pay tribute to him     by dedicating this award to his memory,” said the FIFA President during     the inauguration ceremony.     

Mrs Puskás added: “It is truly an     indescribable honour that FIFA, which in the area of our youth is already one of the world’s most     prestigious organisations, names such an important award after Ferenc     Puskás. I thank you in the name of     ‘Öcsi’ and on behalf of all those who admired Ferenc Puskás’ ability and     personality and who appreciated and respected my husband around the whole     world. In particular I would like     to welcome here our old friend, Mr Sepp Blatter, who has done so much to     create this award. I am very     grateful to the Puskás Academy and the Hungarian Football     Association, which assisted in the creation of the Puskás Award.     I trust that the men and women who will     win the FIFA Puskás Award in the future will be appreciative and that     football supporters will also be proud of     them.”

The winner of the FIFA Puskás Award will     be selected via FIFA.com in the last two weeks of November. Videos of the     ten most beautiful goals of the year, as chosen by FIFA’s Football     Committee, will be posted on the website and the final decision on the     winner will be the result of an online poll.    

The name of the player who has scored the     “most beautiful goal of the year” will be announced at the FIFA World     Player Gala on 21 December 2009. The player in question will receive the     FIFA Puskás Award trophy engraved with his or her     name.

The     criteria for selecting the goal of the year are as     follows:

1)        It     should be a beautiful goal (subjective – the spread of goals should     include     long-range shots, team goals, overhead kicks, etc.).

2)        The     importance of the match should be taken into account (objective – limited     to “A” international teams, confederation championships and national     top-division club matches: the more important the goal, the     better).

3)        The     goal should not be the result of luck or mistakes by the other     team.

4)        The     goal should support fair play, i.e. the player should not have behaved     badly in the game or have been charged with doping, for     example.

5)        Only     goals scored from July 2008 to July 2009 will be     considered.

For a complete biography of Ferenc Puskás,     go to:

    http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/players/player=174886/index.html

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Keywords · Ferenc Puskás · FIFA · Sepp Blatter · Ferenc Puskás Football Academy · Hungary

Name: Nicolas Maingot
Organization: FIFA
Email:
Phone: +41-43/222 7272
URL: http://www.fifa.com/index.html

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