Also in today’s roundup, next FIFA Awards to take place in London
Longtime USWNT #1 Briana Scurry has been elected to the US Soccer Hall of Fame Class of 2017. This was Scurry’s third year to be nominated. She made her US debut in 1994, earning her first shutout in that same match, and went on to record 173 caps and 72 shutouts. In her 14-year international career, she was the starting goalkeeper for every minute of the 1995, 1999, and 2003 World Cups, winning one and taking home bronzes in the others, and the 1996 and 2004 Olympics, winning two golds. She made six saves against Brazil during the semifinal of the 1999 World Cup and is perhaps best known for making a crucial save on China’s third penalty kick attempt during the penalty kick shootout to determine the winner of the final. Scurry was also in goal for the semifinal and third place matches of the 2007 World Cup. She was an alternate for the 2008 Olympic team and made her last international appearance in November of that year.
Scurry played for the Raleigh Wings in 1998, winning a W-League championship. She was a founding member of the WUSA, leading the Atlanta Beat to the Founders Cup in 2001 and 2003, and was named the league’s Goalkeeper of the Year in its final season. She appeared for the Washington Freedom of the WPS in 2009, alongside Ali Krieger, Abby Wambach, and Becky Sauerbrunn, among others, but retired after suffering a season-ending concussion in 2010.
Scurry reunited with the Freedom in 2011 when they moved to Florida and rebranded as MagicJack, serving as the team’s general manager. She was in the studio for ESPN’s broadcast of the 2011 World Cup and has since become an advocate for concussion and traumatic brain injury awareness due to her own history of head injuries.
Scurry will be the first African-American woman and the first female goalkeeper to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
“It’s a fantastic honor to be inducted to the Hall of Fame. I remember watching the Olympics on the couch with my parents at 8 years old, dreaming of becoming an Olympian myself. It was with their help – and that of my coaches, teammates, and countless others – that I was blessed to not only become an Olympian, but an Olympic and World Cup champion,” Scurry said. “Soccer had already given me so much more than I could possibly give back. Now, to be inducted alongside the likes of Michelle Akers, Mia Hamm, and Kristine Lilly – I am truly humbled. And though my mother and father have passed, I can feel their pride swell. Thank you for letting me play for you, and thank you all for this incredible honor.”
FIFA BEST AWARDS TO TAKE PLACE IN LONDON
Carli Lloyd, right, and Jill Ellis won FIFA honors in 2015. (Photo by Philipp Schmidli/Getty Images)
FIFA announced today that the next edition of The Best FIFA Football Awards will take place in London, England, on October 23. The inaugural awards were held this previous January in Zurich, Switzerland, where Carli Lloyd was named The Best FIFA Women’s Player, while Germany’s former head coach Silvia Neid was named The Best FIFA Women’s Coach. Previous winners include Abby Wambach and Mia Hamm among the players and Jill Ellis as a coach.
The Best FIFA Football Awards are voted on by media representatives, national team coaches and captains, and the general public, with each group contributing 25% of the final vote. The Awards began after France Football ended their partnership with FIFA for the Ballon d’Or award in late 2016. Besides the best players and coaches for both men and women, the awards include the Fair Play Award, the Award for an Outstanding Career, the Puskás Award (for best goal), the Fan Award, and the FIFPro World 11.
New in 2017 will be The Best FIFA Goalkeeper. It is unclear whether this award will also be split between men and women, although the rules of allocation currently refer specifically to men. The Puskás Award is unique in that it is awarded without distinction between genders. The FIFPro World Players’ Union also names a World XI for women, but this is not included in The Best FIFA Football Awards. Last year’s World XI included Lloyd, Hope Solo, Ali Krieger, and Alex Morgan, as well as Marta.
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