Winter is fast approaching, bringing the usual seasonal debates. As a rite of passage, soon commentators will start debating whether the Premier League needs a fortnight’s winter break so that England can start winning again.

Then there will be the winter transfer window, an opportunity for players who sit on the bench at big clubs to be replaced by non-essential players from little clubs. If last year’s events repeat themselves, we’ll have only have major transfers to be counted on one hand.

And finally, the individual awards. The obsolete FIFA World Player of the Year. The Ballon d’Or. The African Footballer of the Year. The Asian Footballer of the Year. An overabundance of honors. Each more silly than the next.

It is probable that Lionel Messi will get the Ballon d’Or for the third year in the row. His closest competitors are Cristiano Ronaldo and Xavi.

The FIFA World Player of the Year and the France Football Ballon d’Or merged last year after it became clear that the two prizes were redundant. Moreover, FIFA wasn’t even handing out the more prestigious award. The choice for African Footballer of the Year is ruthlessly attacked every year. The Asian Footballer of the Year doesn’t include Europe-based players such as Park Ji-Sung and Keisuke Honda, who should be contenders.

Soccer is a team sport. The purpose of organizations such as FIFA, the CAF, and the AFC is to organize championships so that teams can compete against each other without any bias or favoritism. Given FIFA’s struggles with its preparations for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, even this might be asking too much of it.

To get more publicity, every administration wants to create some sort of award. Anything to attract the cameras. To be fair, some ideas are creative. The FIFA World Player of the Year was selected by the coaches and captains of every national team. The UEFA Club Footballer of the Year is selected by a panel of journalists, one representing each member of UEFA.

But is this really necessary? These awards are attempts by administrators to force their opinions on the fans. They think that by making an award “official” it will gain more recognition.

They are wrong.

For decades the France Football Ballon d’Or was the most widely respected soccer award. Yet it was not official. It survived because of the reputation it gained for making the best choice. France Football was not guaranteed the attention it ultimately received. Other publications had their own choices, but none of them came close to reaching the same level of prestige.

France Football developed the most prized trophy because of the quality of its choices. FIFA, UEFA, and Co. have jumped in with their own trophies, thinking that they will write history and decide who gets to be remembered.

They are wrong.

The most popular answers to the “greatest player in history” question are Pele and Maradona. It doesn’t matter that they never won any individual award, because they weren’t eligible. Nobody remembers Josef Masopust or Omar Sivori as being greater than Pele. Yet Pele never won the Ballon d’Or. Nobody remembers Igor Belanov or Paolo Rossi as being greater than Maradona. Yet Maradona never won the Ballon d’Or.

Pele and Maradona are remembered because of what they accomplished, not because of what trinkets were bestowed upon them. Their accomplishments speak for themselves. A player’s true quality cannot be officially decided.

Independent analysts can have their opinions, but important achievements will ultimately decide.