UEFA Women’s Player of the Year Award: The UEFA Women’s Player of the Year Award, earlier called the UEFA Best Women’s Player in Europe Award, is given to the best female footballer playing for a European club in the last season. This award started in 2013, two years after the male version, the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award.
In the first year, Nadine Angerer, Lena Goeßling, and Lotta Schelin were shortlisted. Nadine Angerer won the award on 5 September 2013 during the 2013–14 UEFA Women’s Champions League draw.
Criteria and Voting
UEFA chooses players based on their performance in all competitions, including club and national team matches. For the first award, coaches from UEFA Women’s Euro 2013 and Champions League teams nominated players.
Eighteen sports journalists then voted, ranking their top three choices. The top three made the shortlist, and the winner, runner-up, and third place were decided in a second vote during the Champions League draw.
Winners
In 2013, Nadine Angerer (Germany, 1. FFC Frankfurt) won with 10 votes, followed by Lena Goeßling (6 votes) and Lotta Schelin (2 votes). Nadine Keßler and Wendie Renard also ranked in the top 10.
In 2014, three VfL Wolfsburg players made the top 3. Keßler won, followed by Martina Müller and Nilla Fischer. Others in the top 10 included Schelin, Marta, and Christen Press.
In 2015, Célia Šašić (1. FFC Frankfurt) won with 11 votes, ahead of Amandine Henry and Dzsenifer Marozsán. Players like Eugénie Le Sommer and Wendie Renard ranked in the top 10.
Ada Hegerberg (Norway, Olympique Lyon) won in 2016 with 65%. Lieke Martens (Netherlands, FC Barcelona) won in 2017, while Pernille Harder (Denmark, VfL Wolfsburg) won in 2018. Lucy Bronze won in 2019, beating Hegerberg and Henry.
