The Best International Athlete ESPY Award is an award given to the sportsperson adjudged to have been the best or most outstanding of those born outside, or not possessing

citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

, of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

who contest a major international sport in a given calendar year. From 2008 to 2009, the award was split into Best Female International Athlete ESPY Award and Best Male International Athlete ESPY Award. The women's version of the award for 2008 and 2009 were presented to Mexican professional golfer Lorena Ochoa. The award was discontinued after 2009, but was reinstated in 2012. In 2018, the award was restricted to soccer and renamed Best International Men's Soccer Player, and a women's version of the award, also specific to soccer, was introduced at that time. Eligibility was still based on citizenship, regardless of the player's club affiliation. The 2018 and 2019 awards for the women's version were given to Australian soccer player

Sam Kerr Samantha May Kerr (born 10 September 1993) is an Australian professional football player who plays as a forward for Chelsea in the FA Women's Super League and the Australia women's national team (the ''Matildas''), which she has captained ...

. The award's name was changed again in 2021 to Best International Athlete, Men's Soccer, with the women's award undergoing an identical name change. The eligibility criteria also changed; both awards are now presented to soccer players who play at club level outside the United States, without regard to citizenship. The 2021 women's version of this award, and the first under the current eligibility criteria, was presented to

Sam Mewis Samantha June Mewis (born October 9, 1992) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Kansas City Current of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), as well as the United States national team. She played college ...

, an American who played her club soccer at Manchester City. Balloting for the award was conducted over the Internet by fans from amongst choices selected by the ESPN Select Nominating Committee. The ESPY Awards ceremony has been conducted in June or July since the 2002 ceremony; all awards conferred in that period reflect performance and achievement over the twelve months previous to presentation, which may span one or two seasons depending upon the recipient's particular sport. The award wasn't awarded in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

List of winners

References

{{ESPY International Athlete ESPY Awards Awards established in 2006 Awards disestablished in 2009 Awards established in 2012

List of winners

See also

References