FIFA rebrands annual award gala, confirms date for 2016 ceremony

FIFA announced Monday its grand plan to rebrand its annual award gala, with the governing body revealing the new name for its most prestigious individual trophies following the recent split from France Football.

The two had worked together for the past six years, combining their formerly separate honours into one to create the FIFA Ballon d'Or award. After last month's revelation that the French magazine would revert back to handing out the hardware on its own, football's governing body had a decision to make: go back to presenting the FIFA World Player of the Year award - which ceased to exist after 2010 - or come up with something new.

Related: France Football splits with FIFA over Ballon d'Or

Gianni Infantino and company opted for the latter, announcing Monday that the annual gala will still go ahead, but this time under the title of "The Best FIFA Football Awards."

The ceremony will be held on Jan. 9 in Zurich, and will recognize the best male and female player, along with the top male and female coach of the past calendar year.

The Puskas Award for best goal and FIFPro World11 will also be presented in what is sure to be an overly glitzy, cringe-worthy extravaganza.

The shortlists for the quartet of marquee individual awards will be revealed as follows:

• The Best FIFA Women’s Coach 2016 - Nov. 1 (10 candidates)
• The Best FIFA Men's Coach 2016 - Nov. 2 (10 candidates)
• The Best FIFA Women's Player 2016 - Nov. 3 (10 candidates)
• The Best FIFA Men's Player 2016 - Nov. 4 (23 candidates)

"This event will be about football and its most passionate participants - players, coaches, and fans," FIFA boss Gianni Infantino said.

"It is a new event with new approaches to celebrating the game we all love."

Related - Ronaldo, Messi headline Ballon d'Or shortlist; Vardy gets surprise nod