To mark the growth of the women’s game, the BBC are giving fans the chance to vote for the Women’s Footballer of the Year award – the first award of its kind hosted by a global broadcaster.
A panel of experts including journalists, coaches and former players, will determine a five-woman shortlist which will be announced on April 26.
Fans will then get the chance to vote for the winner, who will be revealed in May just before the start of the World Cup in Canada the following month.
This year’s World Cup sees 8 more teams make their tournament debut making it the largest women’s football tournament in history.
The total number of teams entering the World Cup have almost tripled since its conception in 1991, and it has taken just 24 years for the finals to expand from 12 teams to 24 teams – a feat which took a whopping five decades in the men’s game.
Participation is also at an all time high around the globe with the number of females getting involved in the game rising from 22m in 2000, to 30.1m today.
The managing editor of the BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year award, Caroline Rigby, said of the new honour: “This award is a great opportunity to highlight the incredible skill level and depth of talent that exists in women’s football globally.”
“It will demonstrate how far the game has come in recent years and will enable fans to introduce new fans to the best players in the world.”
