It was a fitting honor for a legendary player. Marta, the Brazilian soccer icon, has won the inaugural FIFA award for the best goal in women’s soccer, which is named after her.
The 38-year-old was recognized at FIFA’s “The Best” awards on Tuesday for her stunning goal during an international friendly match against Jamaica in June.
Previously, the Puskas Award encompassed all of soccer, but this year it was split to recognize the best goal in the men’s game—awarded to Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho—and to establish the new Marta Award for women’s soccer.
“Competing against so many great players and seeing fantastic goals has been wonderful,” Marta said. “But I’m even happier to receive an award that bears my name; this is undoubtedly the greatest honor.”
Regarded as the greatest female soccer player of all time, Marta has won the women’s player of the year award a record six times. She has scored 119 goals in 185 appearances for Brazil, participating in six World Cups and six Olympic Games before retiring from international play after the Paris Games, where Brazil finished as runners-up to the United States. Last month, she also celebrated her first NWSL title when Orlando Pride defeated Washington Spirit 1-0 in the final, having scored in the semifinal.
The day before the title match, Marta was asked if she thought it was possible she might vote for herself for the award.
“You guys need to decide, because who votes for the best goal in the year? It’s you. It’s the people in the public. So it should be really interesting, like Marta’s Award goes to Marta!” she joked.
The Marta Award was determined by a combination of fan votes and a panel of FIFA legends.
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