On the evening of Monday 17 December, the FIFA World Player of the Year 2007 will be crowned. At the end of the gala in Zurich, we will discover the names of the two winners who have been selected by the coaches and captains of every national football team around the world. Everyone is curious to find out whether Kaka, Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, and Cristiane, Marta or Birgit Prinz have won the ultimate accolade. Be among the first to know by following the event on FIFA.com.

Can there be any greater honour that being voted best player in the world by your contemporaries? Surely not, which is why the FIFA World Player Gala 2007 is one of the most hotly anticipated events of the year. As you would expect, FIFA.com will be on hand again this year to provide the most complete coverage of the proceedings.

The real innovation this year is that you will be able to follow the gala in full and for free on live video, direct from the Zurich Opera House and beginning at 20:00 CET. The broadcast will last for 52 minutes, during which time you will see the stars, the action and highlights from the year, all with a musical soundtrack which builds up to the announcement of the winners. And if this still is not enough, then during the show you can read articles all about the nominees, the winners of the Fair Play award and the FIFA President.

Interviews, red carpet and reactions
Before the curtain is raised, you can get into gala mood by reading portraits of the six nominees and articles about the previous winners, before the press conference with the finalists is shown live on video at 16:00 (CET). The conference is often an emotional event - who can forget Marta's tears of joy three years ago or the warm embrace shared by Samuel Eto'o, Ronaldinho and Thierry Henry, who have since become team-mates, in 2005?

Still not sated? Video interviews with the finalists will be broadcast throughout the day and bulletins sent from the "red carpet" right up until the start of the ceremony. Galleries will provide a photographic record of the evening, while the players' reactions will be sent straight from the mixed zone as soon as the announcements have been made.

As if that were not enough, there are screen-savers ready to be downloaded which will be updated after the event. Stay tuned - the show is about to begin!