All about Brazilian football

2023 Samba Gold Award

The Brazilian fans chose and the 2023 Samba Gold Award already has its winners. Vinícius Júnior, Tamires and Marcos Leonardo were the most voted by the public in the men, women and Under-20 categories, respectively.

The men’s Samba Gold has been awarded annually, since 2008, to the best Brazilian player playing abroad. The women’s tournament, which has existed since 2021, is awarded to the best Brazilian player who plays domestically or abroad.

The U-20 contest has reached its second edition and rewards the best young Brazilian player, whether playing in Brazil or abroad.

Tamires
Vini Jr.
Marcos Leonardo

Winners – Samba Gold

2023

Know our history

Samba Gold was created by Samba Agency (Sambafoot) in 2008 and had the former midfielder Kaká as its first winner. In the last three editions, Neymar took home the trophy and became the biggest winner in the history of the award, with six achievements. Thiago Silva comes in second place in the historical ranking, with three awards.

Initially intended exclusively for men’s football, Samba Gold has been growing every year and currently presents three categories: men’s, women’s and Under-20.

At first, the award analyzed the performance of Brazilian athletes in European football. In 2021, it was expanded to all continents and, from that year onwards, players can be playing in any country (including Brazil).

Trophy awarded to winners

Check out the winners of the 2023 Samba Gold Award

Categories

Vini Jr.

The Real Madrid player secured the majority of public votes.

Tamires

The Brazilian took the 2nd trophy in the category.

Marcos Leonardo

The young star won the under-20 trophy.

How voting work

The Samba Gold voting system brought new features since the last edition

Electoral Board

Formed by a select group of professionals related to the world of football, the Electoral Board is responsible for nominating nominees in the three categories.

Fernando “Fefux” Ribeiro
Ioannis Canteiro
Mauricio Oliveira
Wallace Jr
André Galvão
Clara Albuquerque
Marcio Dolzan
Leonardo Fontes
Marcondes Brito
Allan Rodrigues de Carvalho
Gustavo Furtado
Bruno Doro
Yan Rocha
Lucas Menezes
Thiago Morteira
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Public voting

The winners are chosen through public voting. Once voting begins, everyone can vote for their favorite in each category.

Our rules

No. 1

- Samba Gold

The objective is to name the 10 Brazilian players who stood out the most in the year playing outside the country, in addition to the 10 most outstanding Brazilian under-20 players in 2023 in Brazil or abroad. The award takes into account the athlete’s statistics, role, achievements and overall impact on their club(s) from the beginning to the end of the year.

No. 2

- Appointments

The lists of nominees in each category are made up of 10 men, 10 women and 10 under-20 players, and were released on October 2, 2023. Members of the Electoral Board are responsible for nominating nominees in the three categories.

No. 3

- Voters

Samba Gold 2023 voters belong to two distinct groups: the first, public voting, is made up of readers, users and followers of the Sambafoot website; the second, VIP Voters, is made up of special guests from the Sambafoot team. The votes of both groups have the same weight.

No. 4

- Voting process

Voting for the three categories of Samba Gold began on October 2, 2023, and closed on November 20, 2023. Each voter was able to choose one (1) candidate from each category as their favorite to win this edition.

No. 5

- The trophy

The personalized 2023 Samba Gold Award will be delivered by Sambafoot directly to the three winners – men, women and under-20. The winners will have their names revealed on November 24, 2023. The announcement will be made through Sambafoot website and social media and on the Samba Gold page.

In the press

See Samba Gold highlighted in the main media outlets

Neymar conquista o troféu ‘Samba de Ouro’ pela quinta vez

Samba Gold: Neymar vence o prêmio de melhor jogador brasileiro atuando no exterior

‘Samba Gold’: Neymar é eleito pela quinta vez o melhor jogador brasileiro na Europa

Neymar ganha Samba de Ouro de melhor jogador brasileiro que atua fora do país em 2021

See Samba Gold highlighted in the main media outlets