The Best Soccer Player category of the ESPY Award was presented in 2000, 2001, 2005, and 2006 to the

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

(

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

) player adjudged to be the best in a given

calendar year Generally speaking, a calendar year begins on the New Year's Day of the given calendar system and ends on the day before the following New Year's Day, and thus consists of a whole number of days. A year can also be measured by starting on any ...

among those contesting the sport on the

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and sk ...

international International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

level, irrespective of gender or nation represented. The award was bifurcated in

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, but the resulting Best Male and Best Female Soccer Player ESPY Awards were joined once more in 2005. The award was effectively discontinued in 2005 and replaced by the

Best MLS Player ESPY Award The Best MLS Player ESPY Award is an annual award honoring the achievements of an individual from the world of Major League Soccer (MLS). It was first awarded as part of the ESPY Awards in 2006. The Best MLS Player ESPY Award trophy, designed by ...

(which was first awarded in 2006), as the 2006 award went to a worldwide star not to an American as in the previous years. During the award's three years, the voting panel comprised variously fans, who participated through

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...

balloting;

sportswriter Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...

s and broadcasters, sports executives, and retired

sportsperson An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-de ...

s, termed collectively ''experts''; and ESPN personalities. The ESPY Awards ceremony was conducted in February and awards conferred reflected performance and achievement over the twelve months previous to presentation. Since 2005, voting was undertaken exclusively by fans over the Internet from among nominees selected by the ESPN Select Nominating Committee, and awards have been presented in July to reflect performance and achievement over the twelve months previous to presentation.

List of winners

References

External links

* {{ESPYs ESPY Awards American soccer trophies and awards Awards established in 2001 Awards disestablished in 2006

List of winners

See also

References

External links