Emma Hayes, Eden Hazard nominated for The Best FIFA awards

History was made at Chelsea FC Women in 2017-18, with a league and FA Cup Double on the domestic front and a Champions League campaign that went farther than any other attempt in the past (a semifinal defeat to Wolfsburg). Add to that a new stadium to call their own after Chelsea acquired Kingsmeadow as well as a long-overdue name change from “Ladies” to “Women” and it’s truly been a year to remember.

Now there’s one more accolade we can add, after manager Emma Hayes was nominated for this year’s ‘The Best’ FIFA awards for Best Women’s Coach. The shortlist of 10 candidates includes former Chelsea coach Mark Parsons as well, but obviously we’ll be hoping that Hayes wins this one.

Somewhat surprisingly, no Chelsea players were nominated for the Best Women’s Player award. Sorry, Fran Kirby, Ramona Bachmann, et al.

Also receiving recognition is Eden Hazard, who wasn’t Chelsea’s best player last season but has been deemed worthy of nomination for FIFA’s award, which probably counts in his performances (and captaincy) for the Belgian national team as well.

Hazard is unlikely to win with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Mo Salah, and Kylian Mbappe also among the ten total nominees, but the nomination itself is a nice enough accomplishment already.

Congrats to both Emma and Eden!