U.S. stars Tiffeny Milbrett (New York Power) and Mia Hamm (Washington Freedom) and Chinese veteran Sun Wen (Atlanta Beat) have been nominated for FIFA’s World Female Player of the Year — marking the first time FIFA is honoring the top women’s player. The winner will be announced on Monday, Dec. 17 at the FIFA World Player Gala 2001 in Zurich, Switzerland. The three WUSA stars were nominated in voting by 72 women’s national team coaches from around the world. Five points were awarded for a first place nomination, three points for a second place, and one point for a third. Coaches were not permitted to vote for players from their own national team. The voting closed on Oct. 31, 2001. FIFA has named a men’s World Player of the Year since 1991. This year’s finalists are Luis Figo (Portugal), Raul (Spain) and David Beckham (England).