Qatar 2022 fallout: Morocco’s Bono nominated for FIFA award
Morocco’s Bono who manned the goalposts on the country’s journey to FIFA World Cup history has been rewarded with a nomination for one of FIFA’s biggest awards.
Bono’s recognition comes on the back of immense success with the Moroccan national team at the just-concluded World Cup, as well as a stellar season with Sevilla, which saw him crowned as the best goalkeeper in La Liga with the Tropheo Ricardo Zamora for the 2021/22 season.
The FIFA The Best award will take into consideration performances by players between 8th August 2021 and 18th December 2022.
The 31-year-old Quebec-born goalkeeper will be in contention with six other renowned shot-stoppers, including Liverpool and Brazil’s Alisson, Real Madrid and Belgium’s Thibaut Courtois, Croatia and Dinamo Zagreb’s Dominik Livakovic, France and AC Milan’s Mike Maignan, Germany and Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer, as well as Argentina and Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez, who already beat Bono to the 2022 World Cup Golden Glove.
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Bono will face stiff competition for the top prize, but he will be confident that he can follow in the footsteps of Chelsea’s Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, who won the 2021 award after a stellar season with The Blues.
The Best FIFA Football Awards are set to take place on February 27, 2023, and Bono will be considered one of the favourites to become the goalkeeper of the year after being called heroic in FIFA’s profiling of the goalkeepers nominated for the award.
“Bounou’s brilliance in Morocco’s history-making run to World Cup semi-finals represented a continuation of the form he has shown at club level.
“He was a key factor in Sevilla having the best defensive record in La Liga in 2021/22 and his efforts were recognised when he received the award for the division’s best goalkeeper.
“A calm and assured presence as the last line of defence for club and country, Bounou’s performances in Qatar were described as heroic by Morocco captain Romain Saiss.”
If Bono wins the best goalkeeper award, he will become the first Moroccan and only the second African ever to win it and will crown what has been a spectacular year for Bono, Morocco, and the African continent.