Don't worry, this time Christine Sinclair and the acronym FIFA are being used together in a positive way: The captain of the women's national team has been shortlisted for the FIFA Ballon D'Or as women's player of the year.
In addition, Canadian head coach John Herdman has been shortlisted for the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women's Football, with the winners of all awards to be announced on January 7.
Sinclair has previously been under consideration for player of the year in 2002, 2006, 2007 and 2008, but given her heightened domestic and global profile following the Olympic Games, this may represent her best chance at winning. She is up against some high-powered competition, including Marta (who won five straight times, from 2006-10), Homare Sawa (last year's winner) and Abby Wambach (who is nudging ever so close to Mia Hamm's all-time goal-scoring record).
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While her hat-trick performance in the Olympic semi-final will certainly have endeared her to many voters, Sinclair's reaction in the game's aftermath (and her subsequent four-game suspension by FIFA) could have had a chilling effect on her chances of gathering support.
Also, while her individual performance will long be remembered, the unfortunate reality is that it ultimately wasn't enough to lift the team to victory in that game. Though that's not Sinclair's fault it will, rightly or wrongly, create doubt in the voters' minds. Remember, too, that voters won't be making their decision based solely on one performance in the Olympic Games (if they were, Carli Lloyd -- whose brace won the gold medal for the USA -- would be a shoo-in).
Still, Sinclair will likely be among the top three vote-getters (whose names will be revealed next month) and has a realistic chance of winning the award. In fact, this almost feels like one of those years where, like at the Academy Awards, a long-running star is given their reward for a career-long body of work. And if that is the case, Sinclair is certainly in the discussion. But then, so is Abby Wambach (who came third in voting last year, but has never won the top award).
Maybe this award will end up being Canada's revenge?
As for coach of the year, I won't claim to know enough about the work done by all of the candidates to make a conclusive prediction. But looking simply at what Herdman has been able to do in the short time he's worked with the Canadian team (going from a dead-last finish in the 2011 Women's World Cup to a 2012 Olympic bronze medal, with pretty much the same group of players), his performance has been nothing short of remarkable.
The work done by the coaches and development systems in France and Japan have also turned the women's game on its head; but those transitions have come over the course of several years, and both appeared to culminate in 2011. When it comes to 2012, though, it's tough to find a story that tops what Herdman's been able to do with the Canadian squad.
It would be fantastic to see both Sinclair and Herdman receive FIFA's top honours -- and without being a cheerleader or a blind patriot, I think I'm on safe footing in asserting that it's not ridiculous to envision one or both of them winning. If I had to stake cash on one of them, though, given the circumstances, it would likely be Herdman.
Still, best of luck to them both.