FIFA make change to World Cup Player of the Match award for eight players

FIFA have made a significant but respectful change to the Player of the Match award for a select amount of players participating in the 2026 World Cup.

The 48-team tournament will see a total of 104 Player of the Match awards handed out in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

36 prizes have already been given out to the likes of Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Michael Olise, while US star Folarin Balogun has two to his name.

The winner is voted by fans in an online poll and presented by lager brand Michelob ULTRA, who are the official sponsors of the award.

Every player who has won the award has been presented with it after the game and posed for a picture, which has been posted on the FIFA World Cup's social media channels.

On X, Michelob ULTRA have also been sharing content of a number of winners - as they did at last year's Club World Cup.

However, it does appear that a different approach has been taken with a group of players.

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Because it is an alcohol brand and many countries in the World Cup are predominantly Muslim and consider it forbidden, the branding for their pictures is different.

For the Player of the Match presentations for Canada's injured star Ismael Kone, Qatar goalkeeper Mahmoud Abunada and Ivory Coast top talent Yan Diomande, the Michelob ULTRA logo was not on the boards in the backdrop.

The World Cup Player of the Match appears to be handled differently. Image: Getty

It was also the case with Ramin Rezaeian of Iran, Egypt's Emam Ashour, Jordan's, Ali Olwan, Morocco and Bayern Munich now boy Ismael Saibari and Switzerland midfielder Johan Manzambi.

Instead, their backdrop simply said 'Superior Player of the Match' all over, as well as having the FIFA World Cup emblem.

Though the trophy looks virtually the same, the Michelob ULTRA logo is not visible.

Fellow beer brand Budweiser were the official Player of the Match sponsor for the last two World Cups, including in 2018 when one player refused to accept the prize.

Egypt goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy received the honour after a sublime display in a losing effort against Uruguay.

But when the award was being given to him, he declined to accept it for religious reasons. A picture of him appearing to raise his hand in refusal circulated on social media at the time.

In the Premier League, the Player of the Match award used to involve a bottle of alcohol and many Muslim stars like Yaya Toure would turn it down as a result.

A more basic award is now given out and when it comes to celebrations for trophies, non-alcoholic champagne is used.

FIFA has lucrative brand partnerships for the World Cup and those not on the list of sponsors have had to cover up branding as a result - including the stadiums who have brand naming rights.

Players with Beats headphones have also had to tape up the logo when on the pitch before games.

A FIFA spokesperson told SPORTbible: "AB InBev presents the Superior Player of the Match trophy to a standout player after every FIFA World Cup 2026 match, as determined by a fan vote. To respect religious considerations, a non-branded award and backdrop are available upon request by the selected player. The same non-branded elements are applied when the player is under legal drinking age."