LAUSANNE, Januar 2, 2020 (MOREL/AIPS) – Liverpool FC was voted the Best Team of 2019 after the incredible match in the UEFA Champions League ended with the title holder’s victory against Tottenham. Liverpool attracted the eyes of the world with one of the greatest UCL comebacks in its history by managing to access the final for the second year in a row after the 3-0 defeat in Barcelona. Pushed by Anfield’s support the Reds inflicted a 4-0 loss on Messi’s squad in a magical night. "You'll Never Walk Alone", sung at the top of his voice by coach Juergen Klopp under the Kop will remain a memorable moment of the decade.

Meanwhile the unique award for the Best Press Facility went to the facilities and personnel of the exclusive IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019: with a lot of criticism ahead of the beginning of the event – postponed to September from the traditional athletics calendar – the World Athletics professionals and volunteers were able to set up everything the media needed to cover the event and work at their best.

This is the result of a poll by the International Sports Press Association (AIPS), where a panel of 331 journalists from 102 countries voted for the Champions of 2019.
LIVERPOOL FC - The Reds of Liverpool FC were dominant in the Best Team poll, receiving a total of 908 votes, followed by the USA Women's National Team, who were the heroines of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, with 538 votes, while Rugby South Africa Men's National Team settled for third place with 434 votes.

Here's the full list of the Best Team of 2019

Liverpool FC - Football - 908 (30,21%)

USA Women's National Team – Football - 538 (17,90%)

South Africa Men's National Team - Rugby - 434 (14,44%)

Brazil Men's National Team - Volley - 267 (8,88%)

Győri Audi ETO KC - Handball - 174 (5,79%)

Denmark Men's National Team – Handball -138 (4,59%)

Team Norway - Biathlon -117 (3,89%)

Italy Men's National Team - Waterpolo - 114 (3,79%)

Spain Women's National Team - Basketball - 98 (3,26%)

Japanese Judo Mixed Team – Judo - 73 (2,43%)

England Men's Team - Cricket - 63 (2,10%)

German eight rowing - Rowing -39 (1,30%)

Ski Jumping Team Germany - Ski Jumping - 23 (0,77%)

Team Kajak Four Germany K4 500m - Kajak - 20 (0,67%)

IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 - The event received a total of 574 votes, followed by the press facilities of FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019 with 539 and Wimbledon 2019 with 461 votes.

Here's the list of the Best Press Facilities of 2019

IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 - Athletics - 574 (19,10%)

FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019 – Football - 539 (17,93%)

Wimbledon Championships 2019 - Tennis - 461 (15,34%)

UEFA Nations League - Football - 316 (10,51%)

FIE Fencing World Championship Budapest 2019 – Fencing - 294 (9,78%)

Rugby World Cup 2019 – Rugby - 285 (9,48%)

IJF World Championship 2019 – Judo - 213 (7,09%)

Pan American Games Lima 2019 - Multi-sport -198 (6,59%)

African Games Rabat 2019 - Multi-sport -126 (4,19%)

Here below the list of all the participating countries that provided one or more votes to the survey: Hungary 37, Bulgaria 12, Ghana 10, Italy 10, Mexico 9, Austria 8, Colombia 8, Croatia 8, Romania 8, Spain 7, Switzerland 7, Cuba 6, Ukraine 6, Greece 5, Malta 5, Mongolia 5, Nigeria 5, Portugal 5, Russia 5, Slovak Republic 5, Algeria 4, Argentina 4, Belgium 4, Canada 4, Czech Republic 4, Ethiopia 4, Ireland 4, Poland 4, Slovenia 4, Usa 4, Albania 3, France 3, Germany 3, India 3, Iran 3, Japan 3, Malaysia 3, Pakistan 3, Paraguay 3, Saudi Arabia  3, Senegal 3, Turkey 3, Australia 2, Bangladesh  2, Bolivia 2, Brazil 2, Cameroon 2, Dr Congo 2, Egypt 2, Finland 2, Georgia 2, Great Britain 2, Ivory Coast 2, Kenya 2, Kosovo 2, Luxembourg 2, Moldova 2, Montenegro 2, Netherlands      2, Nicaragua 2, Puerto Rico 2, San Marino 2, Serbia 2, Suriname 2, Tunisia 2, Uganda 2, Uruguay 2, Afghanistan 1, Azerbaijan 1, Belarus 1, Benin 1, Bosnia Herzegovina 1, Burundi 1, Central African Rep. 1, Chile 1, China 1, Chinese Taipei 1, Costa Rica 1, Cyprus 1, Denmark 1, Dominican Republic 1, Gambia 1, Guatemala 1, Iceland 1, Iraq 1,Korea 1, Kuwait 1, Lebanon 1, Liechtenstein 1, Lithuania 1, Macau 1, Mali 1, Mauritania 1, Morocco 1, Nepal 1, Norway 1,  Qatar 1, Sudan 1, Sweden 1, Togo 1, Venezuela 1, Yemen 1.

Maria Pia Beltran - AIPS Media (ends)