How Uganda voted in the Fifa Best awards

The Uganda Cranes head coach Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojević gave the newly-crowned world men’s best player Robert Lewandowski a wild berth while voting for the Fifa The Best awards.

Micho picked Chelsea duo Jorginho and N’Golo Kanté ahead of Salah alongside their Champions League winning tactician Thomas Tuchel for the men’s coach of the year.

Emmanuel Okwi, who took part in his first poll since taking over the armband from Denis Onyango, preferred Argentina and PSG maestro Lionel Messi while the eventual winner Robert Lewandowski and Egyptian captain Mohammed Salah followed in that order.

Okwi went for Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola for coach of the year with Hansi Flick and Roberto Mancini following but it was Tuchel who emerged victorious in the awards held at the Fifa headquarters in Zurich on Monday night.

For the goalkeeper, both Micho and media representative Stephen Mayamba chose eventual winner Eduard Mendy as first choice while Okwi picked him second after Italian Gianluigi Donnarumma.

In the women’s version, none of the three nominees picked by the Uganda Crested Cranes captain Ruth Aturo and former coach Farida Bulega made a podium place. Former Daily Monitor Sports editor Mark Namanya who voted for media, contributed a vote to Barcelona and Spanish national team midfielder Alexia Putellas’s victory.

The winners were determined through a voting process that involved fans, selected media representatives from each member nation, the captains and head coaches of national teams.

In the latter three categories, every voter was required to select his three preferred candidates in a descending order; the first choice carried five points while second and third weighed three and one respectively.

Best Fifa Awards - How Uganda voted

Men’s player of the year
Okwi: 1. Lionel Messi; 2. Robert Lewandowski; 3. Salah
Micho: 1. Jorginho; 2. N’golo Kanté; 3. Mohammad Salah
Mayamba: 1. Robert Lewandowski; 2. Lionel Messi; 3. Jorginho

Women’s player of the year
Aturo: 1. Pernille Harder; 2. Aitana Bonmatí; 3.So-Yun Ji
Bulega: 1. Stina Blackstenius; 2. Aitana Bonmatí; 3. Lucy Bronze
Namanya: 1. Alexia Putellas; 2. Lucy Bronze; 3. So-Yun Ji

Men’s coach of the year
Okwi: 1. Pep Guardiola, 2. Hansi Flick; 3. Roberto Mancini
Micho: 1. Thomas Tuchel; 2. Roberto Mancini; 3. Pep Guardiola
Mayamba: 1. Roberto Mancini; 2. Pep Guardiola; 3. Thomas Tuchel

Women’s coach of the year
Aturo: 1.Lluís Cortés; 2. Sarina Wiegman; 3. Bev Priestman
Bulega: 1. Lluís Cortés; 2. Peter Gerhardsson; 3. Emma Hayes
Namanya: 1. Emma Hayes; 2. Sarina Wiegman; 3. Lluís Cortés

Men’s goalkeeper of the year
Okwi: 1. Gianluigi Donnarumma; 2. Édouard Mendy; 3. Manuel Neuer
Micho: 1. Édouard Mendy; 2. Gianluigi Donnarumma; 3. Alisson Becker
Mayamba: 1. Édouard Mendy; 2. Gianluigi Donnarumma; 3. Kasper Schmeichel