The FIFA Puskás Award is an award established on 20 October 2009 by FIFA at the behest of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) President Sepp Blatter in order to award the player, male or female, judged to have scored the most aesthetically significant and "most beautiful" goal of the year. Ferenc Puskás's name is in commemoration of the newly-created FIFA Goal of the Year award.
The award is in honor of Ferenc Puskás, the captain of Hungary's Mighty Magyar team of the 1950s and central member of the highly successful Real Madrid side of the 1960s. Puskás is widely considered by many to be the most powerful and prolific forward European football produced in first division football, and scored a once world record of 84 goals in 85 internationals. He is the top scorer of the 20th century with 512 goals in 528 matches.
"It is important to preserve the memory of those footballing greats who have left their mark on our history. Ferenc Puskás was not only a player with immense talent who won many honours, but also a remarkable man. FIFA is therefore delighted to pay tribute to him by dedicating this award to his memory," said Blatter at the inauguration of the award in Budapest.
The time-frame for the first award was July 2008 to July 2009. The annual award was presented for the first time during the 2009 FIFA World Player of the Year Gala on 21 December in Switzerland, with the Portuguese player, Cristiano Ronaldo, being the first prize winner.
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