Unlike previous years, the ceremony will take place in London, moving away from the traditional Theatre du Chatelet in ParisHere’s a deep dive to the awards presented and ceremony line-up
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Back when Lionel Messi won his record 8th Ballon d’or award(Photo: IANS)
The stage is set at the London Palladium Theatre, which is set to host the much-anticipated 70th annual Ballon d’or ceremony on Monday, October 26The ceremony will adjudge and honour the best men’s and women’s footballers over the last 12 months on the basis of their statistics and major silverware wins.
The Ballon d’or is run by the France Football Magazine since 1956 and it is considered as the most important individual award for footballers.
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Just like every year, the hype is going over the roof as we await the winners of some of the most prestigious individual awards at the Ballon d’or ceremonyUnlike the previous years, the annual event will take place in London’s Palladium Theatre instead of Paris’ Theatre du Chatelet which has been traditionally hosting the ceremony since 2019.
The United European Football Association (UEFA) said in a statement that the venue was shifted to London in order to honour the first Ballon d’or winner, Stanley Matthews who was actually from England.
How is the Ballon d’or winner determined?
The Ballon d’Or winner is selected through a voting process involving only football journalists.
For the men’s award, France Football and French newspaper L’Equipe work together to prepare a list of 30 shortlisted playersThe nominees are announced a few months before the awards ceremony.
Once the shortlist is finalised, 100 journalists across the globe vote for the nomineesEach journalist ranks the players and the combined results determine who wins the award.
Voters consider three main criteria while deciding their rankings with the first being individual performances, the second being team achievements and third is sportsmanship and fair play.
How many awards are presented?
A total of 13 awards are presented in the annual Ballon d’or ceremony across both men’s and women’s categories.
Other than the men’s and women’s Ballon d’or golden balls, the ceremony will honour the best young players with the Kopa Trophy, the best goalkeepers with the Yashin Trophy, the Gerd Muller Trophy for the best strikers and the Johan Cruyff Trophy for the best coaches. The best men’s and women’s clubs are also honoured in the annual event.
Additionally, the Socrates Award, which was introduced in 2022, will adjudge that personality who has done great humanitarian work and contributed for human welfare.
Who won the men’s and women’s Ballon d’or last year?
France and Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembele had lifted the prestigious men’s golden ball last year for his incredible contribution that saw PSG win their first UEFA Champions League title.
The women’s award, also known as Ballon d’Or Feminin, was given to Spain and FC Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmati who won it for the third time in a row last year.
Who are the nominees across men’s and women’s categories?
Men’s: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid/England), Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona/Spain), Marc Cucurella (Real Madrid/Spain), Ousmane Dembele (Paris St-Germain/France), Luis Diaz (Bayern Munich/Colombia), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United/Portugal), Gabriel (Arsenal/Brazil), Erling Haaland (Manchester City/Norway), Achraf Hakimi (Paris St-Germain/Morocco), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich/England), Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Paris St-Germain/Georgia), Lamine Yamal (Barcelona/Spain), Sadio Mane (Al-Nassr/Senegal), Marquinhos (Paris St-Germain/Brazil), Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan/Argentina), Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid/France), Nuno Mendes (Paris St-Germain/Portugal), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami/Argentina), Joao Neves (Paris St-Germain/Portugal), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich/France), Willian Pacho (Paris St-Germain/Ecuador), Julian Quinones (Al-Qadsiah/Mexico), Declan Rice (Arsenal/England), Rodri (Barcelona/Spain), Fabian Ruiz (Paris St-Germain/Spain), William Saliba (Arsenal/France), Ferran Torres (Paris St-Germain/Spain), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich/France), Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid/Brazil) and Vitinha (Paris St-Germain/Portugal).
Women’s: Selma Bacha (Lyon/France), Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride/Zambia), Klara Buhl (Bayern Munich/Germany), Esmee Brugts (Barcelona/Netherlands), Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal/Spain), Scarlett Camberos (Club America/Mexico), Kerstin Casparij (Manchester City/Netherlands), Temwa Chawinga (Kansas City Current/Malawi), Cata Coll (Barcelona/Spain), Melchie Dumornay (Lyon/Haiti), Caroline Graham Hansen (Barcelona/Norway), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City/England), Patri Guijarro (Barcelona/Spain), Pernille Harder (Bayern Munich/Denmark), Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City/Japan), Rose Lavelle (Gotham FC/United States), Mapi Leon (London City Lionesses/Spain), Lorena (Kansas City Current/Brazil), Melvine Malard (Chelsea/France), Manaka Matsukubo (Chelsea/Japan), Vivianne Miedema (Manchester City/Netherlands), Ewa Pajor (Barcelona/Poland), Claudia Pina (Barcelona/Spain), Alexia Putellas (London City Lionesses/Spain), Wendie Renard (Lyon/France), Alessia Russo (Arsenal/England), Khadija Shaw (Manchester City/Jamaica), Momoko Tanikawa (Bayern Munich/Japan), Caroline Weir (Lyon/Scotland) and Tessa Wullaert (Como/Belgium).
What is the line-up of the ceremony?
10:30 PM-1:00 AM IST: Men’s Ballon d’Or rankings from 30th to 11th announced: The rankings for players placed between 30th and 11th will be revealed ahead of the main ceremony.
1:00 AM IST: Stars arrive at the London Palladium: Players, coaches and guests are expected to arrive at the venue for red-carpet appearances and media interviews.
2:30 AM IST: Ceremony begins: The main event will get underway, with awards recognising performances across club and international football.
2:30 AM-4:30 AM IST: Awards presented: The ceremony will include the men’s and women’s Ballon d’Or awards, along with honours for young players, goalkeepers, strikers, coaches and clubs.
Around 4:30 AM IST: Men’s Ballon d’Or winner announced: The winner of the men’s award is expected to be revealed around this timeAfter the ceremony, the award winners speak to the media.
When and where to watch in India
The 70th Ballon d’or ceremony will be broadcasted live on the DAZN India app/website and on the official Ballon d’or website.
