The 11th edition of the Globe Soccer Awards held in Dubai has named England's Lucy Bronze the best female footballer in the world and Stephanie Frappart the best women's referee of 2019.
Bronze, 28, has made a name for herself by innovating the full-back position during her time at Olympique Lyonnais and the English national team. Her physical ability combined with creativity and quality allows her to be pivotal in defense as well as going forward. The dynamic right-back is the closest player the women's football realm has to a Dani Alves or even her compatriot, Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Bronze has tallied six goals in 75 matches for Lyon over two and a half seasons helping the French giants to lift two UEFA Women's Champions League trophies, two Division 1 Feminine titles and one Coupe de France Feminine cup.
The Berwick-upon-Tweed native was instrumental in England's 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup fourth-place finish. She scored the third goal of a 3-0 win over Norway in the quarter-final and assisted twice throughout the competition.
A treble year with Lyon, an impressive World Cup run and being named the Women's Player of the Year by UEFA was enough to be crowned the Best Women's Player of the Year at the 2019 Dubai Globe Soccer Awards, the first holder of the prize dedicated to women in football.
Bronze shared her success via twitter dedicating it to the empowerment of women in the sport using hashtag #EmpoweringWomen.
So very proud and honoured to have won this award
— Lucy Bronze (@LucyBronze) December 29, 2019
But more importantly I am proud of how the women's game has grown and excited to see where it is heading in the future
More to come!#EmpoweringWomen pic.twitter.com/Hiw2irPtpi
Referees get some love in this award ceremony as well. The legendary former Italian referee, Pierluigi Collina, handed Stephanie Frappart, 36, the Best Referee of the Year award.
Frappart was recognized as the World's Best Woman Referee in the annual IFFHS Awards back in November, but this Dubai Globe Soccer Award pertains to men and women making it a much sweeter victory for the French official.
Some of her most notable distinctions this year were refereeing the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup final between the United States and the Netherlands and the men's UEFA Super Cup between Chelsea and Liverpool.
The Frenchwoman has a history of breaking the ice in terms of becoming the first woman official to officiate in the men's game. She became the first female referee to take charge of a Ligue 2 match in 2014 and followed it up by doing the same in a Ligue 1 match in the 2018-2019 season.
