What's the story?
Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund are the two clubs that are known to have the best atmosphere in their respective stadiums to support their team. When the two teams met last year in the Europa League, the return fixture at Anfield was much anticipated and a heartwarming rendition of "You'll never walk alone" by both set of fans got the match underway. That beautiful rendition has been recognised by FIFA and has been nominated for their first-ever Fan Awards.
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Inaugural FIFA fan awards is a new section of awards that the football body has come up with which is an award for the fans and by the fans. Voting has started for the three nominations that are made public with the accolade being given on January 9 in Zurich at the FIFA football awards. The nominations were decided by a panel constituting Gabriel Batistuta, Zvonimir Boban, Marta and Vladimir Petkovic and have included three brilliant gestures with different setting in each case.
The heart of the matter
The first leg between Dortmund and Liverpool ended all square at Signal Iduna Park with the second leg at Anfield being the deciding factor in which team will reach the semifinals. The Reds ended up winning in a 4-3 thriller with Dejan Lovren scoring the winner and sending the crowd into euphoria. Prior to the on-field action, both sets of fans got together and sang their hearts out to Liverpool's anthem, " You'll never walk alone" which is also used by Borussia at their home ground at times.
Along with the singing, Dortmund fans created a mosaic in tribute to the Hillsborough disaster victims as the match took place just one day before the 27th anniversary of the ill-fated event in Liverpool's history. The two set of fans showed exemplary camaraderie that evening as FIFA has recognised that and gave them a joint nomination in the inaugural FIFA fan awards.
The other nominees include ADO Den Haag supporters offering their support to the Rotterdam’s Sophia Children’s Hospital where the fans showered soft toys from the upper stand to the children sitting below in what turned out to be a beautiful moment.
The third and final nominee is the chant-clap combination of the Iceland players and supporters at the Euros 2016. Almost eight percent population of the tiny country were present when their team took on France and after the game gave a thunderous appreciation to their heroes which were reciprocated by the players.
Sportskeeda's take
All the three nominations are some of the iconic moments that happened in the last year with Iceland's celebration being the most popular. It is expected to get huge votes but the award should be given to the Den Haag supporters who in a positive gesture, proved that football is more than just a game.
