The People’s Puskas Voting Stage: Where 2,300+ Goals Become 100, Then Eight, Then One

The mission hasn't changed since this started in 2022. Football belongs to everyone. People's Puskas exists for everyone. The best goal away from football's biggest arenas deserves recognition if it's good enough.

This year, the goals came from everywhere. Youth leagues in Australia, amateur divisions in Ireland, lower league football in Germany, high school matches in Colorado. The quality speaks for itself. These aren't just decent strikes that happened to get recorded. These are goals that would dominate any highlight reel in any era, scored by players most people will never hear about unless we make sure they do.

The Stories Behind the Strikes

Every goal carries weight beyond the technique. The context matters. The moment matters. What it took to get there matters.

Among the Top 100 are stories that reveal what these goals mean to the players who scored them. A 38-year-old striker in Sweden who finally delivered the bicycle kick his son had been challenging him to score for years. "In that split second, I almost felt his voice in my mind," Gabi Morad says about the moment he launched himself into the air during a crucial promotion match for LSW IF.

There's a 16-year-old in the Girls Academy League who fought off two defenders in the center circle, drove through midfield, and finished with her weaker foot without even realizing it until she watched it back. "I just had it in my mind, followed my instincts and pushed through," Emma Verbanov says.

A defender in Ireland who doesn't usually go forward for corners decided to step up, received the ball on the edge of the box, and curled one into the top corner instead of taking a touch. "I've watched my goal on repeat," Josh Barcoe says. "I genuinely still can't believe I've scored it."

In Australia, where football competes with rugby, cricket, and Australian rules for attention, a 17-year-old striker saw an opponent's heavy touch create a two-second window of opportunity. He struck it with his weaker foot over the goalkeeper. "As soon as it left my laces I knew to start running to celebrate," Marko Starcevic says.

A winger in Germany's fourth division, already training with the senior women's team at 17, flicked the ball behind her supporting leg with her heel at the edge of the box and picked the far corner to help turn a 0-1 deficit into a 3-2 win. "I just took the shot and knew I hit that ball well," Stella Dandache says.

Then there's the striker whose goal-winning run and finish in a playoff race has been watched over 100 times by her grandfather and family. "I knew I had hit the ball perfectly and it was going in," Reese Crance says.

These are just some of the players whose goals made the Top 100. Each one has a story. Each one deserves to be heard.

What This Stage Means

These stories exist at every level of football. The difference now is that they're documented, visible, and competing on equal terms with goals that deserve global recognition.

Mason Evans' volley in 2023 reached over 12 million people. Jonathan Le Ner's bicycle kick last year hit over 30 million and united football fans across continents. That's what happens when you shine a light on grassroots talent. This year's goals are just as good, and the stories behind them matter just as much as the technique.

The voting stage is where the global football community decides which goals advance. Voting happens on peoplespuskas.com, and you can vote three times per day. Found a goal you really love? You can sign up for a supervote and give it extra weight. Voting closes on February 4, when it narrows down to the final eight.

Read the stories. Watch the goals. Vote for the ones that deserve to go through.

Beat that.