Football fans in the UAE, more than 1,000 of them, have determined that Cristiano Ronaldo has the best chance of winning the Golden Ball for the best player at the World Cup. The award is given to the player of the tournament. The survey was commissioned by SoccerTop, a UAE-Based football impact company that returns a third of its profits to good causes.
Portugal captain Ronaldo earned 36% of the public vote, ahead of Argentina legend Lionel Messi in second (19%), France striker Karim Benzema in third (8%) and Brazil talisman Neymar in fourth. Rounding off the top five was Benzema’s Les Bleus teammate Kylian Mbappe (5%). Croatia’s Luka Modric, who won the Golden Ball in 2018, secured just 2% of votes.
Meanwhile, UAE football fans also voted on their favourite team home shirt for the 2022 World Cup with Brazil topping the charts (24%). Argentina garnered 17% of votes in second, while 9% of those surveyed thought Germany had the best kit. Hosts Qatar came in fourth place with 6% of the vote, just ahead of England and France.
SoccerTop also discovered that people in the UAE think football has the power to make a positive difference. More than 1,000 people were asked the question ‘do you think football brings communities together?’ and the result was staggering. Nearly nine out of 10 people (88%) agreed with football’s ability to forge stronger communities. The newly launched SoccerTop business was established by three young entrepreneurial founders who were inspired by a visit to a football camp for the homeless in Ghana where they saw how football has the power to positively transform lives. Motivated by a passion for football and giving back to support communities, SoccerTop’s founding team decided to start selling football shirts and memorabilia to fuel grassroots projects around the world.