At the World Sports Summit in Dubai, FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced that the city will host the 2026 FIFA World Football Awards, marking a new partnership with the Dubai Sports Council. This follows the 2025 ceremony in Doha, where Ousmane Dembele and Aitana Bonmati were named top players.
The announcement came on December 29, 2025, during Infantino's keynote 'The Next 90 Minutes: Charting the On-Pitch Evolution of Football' at the inaugural summit, which gathered over 1,500 sports leaders from more than 50 countries under the theme 'uniting the world through sport'.
Infantino stated, 'We will, as of next year, award the best players, coaches, teams, legends in the world here in Dubai,' praising Dubai's vision for international sport. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Defence, met Infantino on the sidelines to discuss football's role in fostering coexistence. Sheikh Hamdan highlighted the summit as a platform to 'unlock new opportunities to support talent, encourage creativity, and stimulate investment,' and announced the FIFA-Dubai Sports Council agreement for the 2026 awards.
The annual FIFA Awards honor excellence in men's and women's football via votes from fans, journalists, captains, and coaches. In 2025, Paris Saint-Germain's Ousmane Dembele won men's Best Player for his treble-winning season, and Barcelona's Aitana Bonmati took women's. Further details on 2026 categories and dates to be announced.
