In this issue…
It’s that time of year again: World Soccer awards season, when we recognise the players, teams and coaches that defined 2024. A big thank you to our panel of experts who voted in this year’s awards. This year, there was an undeniable theme to the award winners and the contenders – although we’ll let you discover what that is for yourself.
It’s also the time of year when many competitions come to a close. Congratulations to the new champions of South American football, Botafogo, and to all the teams that came out on top in Europe’s various summer leagues.
Jamie Evans, Managing Editor
Contents
THE WORLD THIS MONTH
10 Henry Winter The Voice of football
12 Keir Radnedge The Insider
14 Jonathan Wilson Technically Speaking
15 Reports We Couldn’t Make Up
16 Obituaries
17 ESM XI
18 Moves you might have missed
19 The month in numbers
EYEWITNESS
20 Colombia The rise of Jhon Duran
AWARDS & PEOPLE OF THE YEAR
32 Men’s Player of the Year Rodri
34 Men’s Team of the Year Spain
35 Men’s Manager of the Year Carlo Ancelotti
36 Women’s Player & Team of the Year Aitana Bonmati & Barcelona Femeni
38 Women’s Manager of the Year Emma Hayes
40 People of the Year
51 Farewell to… 2024 obituaries
2024 SUMMER LEAGUES REVIEW
52 Republic of Ireland
53 Norway & Iceland
54 Kazakhstan & Belarus
55 Best of the rest
LEAGUE FOCUS
56 Serbia
WOMEN’S FOOTBALL
58 NWSL Review
2026 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING
64 South America
66 Asia
68 Oceania
WORLD SERVICE
62 EuropeUEFA Nations League update
70 Africa AFCON 2025 qualifying review
74 South America Copa Libertadores review
76 South Korea K-League review
78 Canada Canadian Premier League review
80 CONCACAF Caribbean Cup review
82 Qatar Arabian Gulf Cup review
84 Tonga American adventure
85 The Sweeper Tales from Sweden, Brazil, Montenegro, Bhutan and Germany
MY BIGGEST GAME
98 Jason McAteer Republic of Ireland v Netherlands
