Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Zurich: Japan’s Norio Sasaki and Aya Miyama have been shortlisted for the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women’s Football and FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year 2015 Awards respectively at this year’s FIFA Ballon d’Or.
Japan national women’s team head coach Sasaki, who won the award in 2011 when he was also named the AFC Coach of the Year, has been shortlisted along with USA head coach Jill Ellis and Mark Sampson, manager of the England national team, after leading the Nadeshiko to a runners-up finish at the 2015 FIFA World Cup as Sasaki's side fell at the final hurdle in the defence of the 2011 title they won so famously in Germany.
Meanwhile, two-time AFC Women's Player of the Year Aya Miyama is down to the final three for the FIFA Women's World Player of the Year award with the Okayama Yunogo Belle midfielder, who is also one of three nominees for the yet-to-be-announced 2015 AFC Women’s Player of the Year, up against Carli Lloyd of the USA and Germany’ Célia Šašić in the running for the most prestigious indivdual award in the international women's game.
Both Sasaki and Miyama made the cut after a voting process, which was open to the head coaches and captains of the men’s and women’s national teams of the 207 member associations as well as international media representatives selected by FIFA and France Football.
The FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala will be held in Zurich, Switzerland on January 11, 2016.
Photo: AFP