FIFA World Cup Soccer Awards

Of course the biggest prize at any FIFA World Cup competition is to get the honor of holding the golden champions' trophy aloft. There are however individual awards for notable players at each tournament, and these do not always go to members of the team who are eventually triumphant.

The Golden Ball Award

The Golden Ball award, or the Adidas Golden Ball award as it is now officially known, has been awarded at each of the FIFA World Cup competitions since 1982. The award goes to the player deemed the best in the entire tournament as chosen by a committee of FIFA officials and members of the media.

The Golden Shoe Award

The Golden Shoe has been awarded to at least one player in each of the Cup competitions ever played going back to the first tournament in 1930. The first winner was Argentina's Guilermo Stabile at the 1930 Cup, despite the fact that the eventual winners of the tournament were host country Uruguay. The Golden Shoe award is also now sponsored by Adidas. The winner is usually the man who scores the most goals during the course of the tournament.

The Yashin Award

Named after legendary Russian goalkeeper Lev Yashin, this award goes to the man considered the best goalkeeper of the entire competition. It was first awarded at the 1994 Cup held in the United States

FIFA Fair Play Trophy

The FIFA Fair play trophy was first awarded in 1970 and usually goes to the team with the fewest yellow or red cards during their time in the competition. Only teams who make it to the second round and beyond are considered.

Most Entertaining Team

A fairly new award, it goes to the team voted by the judging committee to have provided the best all around entertainment value during the competition.

Gillette Young Player Award

A brand new award first introduced at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. So far the sole recipient was then 21-year-old German Lukas Poldoski.

Brad Barrett is the founder of SoccerTools.com, a resource for all soccer fans with a current blog on US, English and World Cup soccer and reviews and information on how to buy soccer equipment such as World Cup jerseys, soccer balls and soccer cleats.