Bafana Bafana captain Ronwen Williams’ vote for the FIFA Best has been revealed, and he opted for Rodri of Manchester City as the first option as the awards were held in Doha on Tuesday.

The South African goalkeeper, who is currently on a high after winning the CAF Inter-Club Player of the Year and CAF Goalkeeper of the Year awards, placed Manchester City’s Rodri as his top pick.

Williams’ second choice was Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior, who ultimately won the award, and his third choice was Real Madrid defender Dani Carvajal.

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos also voted for Rodri as his first choice, followed by Vinicius Junior and Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal.

Mzansi’s much-loved sportscaster Robert Marawa opted for Vinicius Junior as his first choice, followed by Erling Haaland and Toni Kroos.

The final results saw Vinicius Junior claim the top spot with 48 points, followed by Rodri with 43 points and Jude Bellingham with 37 points.

How The Best FIFA Men’s Player award winner was determined:

Eleven players were initially nominated for The Best FIFA Men’s Player award, having been chosen by a panel of experts for their achievements between 21 August 2023 and 10 August 2024. 

From this shortlist, votes were cast by men’s national team coaches, men’s national team captains, football journalists, and fans who voted on FIFA’s official website. Voters made their first, second and third choices for the winner. 

Points were given to nominees depending on where they were placed (five points for first, three for second and one for third). 

Nominated national team captains could not vote for themselves. 

Selections from the four voting groups – coaches, captains, journalists, and fans – each counted for 25 per cent of the total vote, irrespective of the number of voters from each group. 

The Best FIFA Men’s Player award was presented to the individual with the most points. 

Were the finalists tied on points; the award would be bestowed on the individual who has received the most first-choice selections from their own group of voters (men’s national team captains in the case of this award). 

The voting procedure for The Best FIFA Men’s Player Award was supervised by independent observers. 

The breakdown on who voted for who around the world in the FIFA Best Player Award is here.

The rest of the other winners of the FIFA Best can be found here.