Sports
The Ballon d'Or changes its rules
From the next edition, the best players of each season will be awarded instead of the calendar year, as it has been done until now. The Qatar World Cup will be part of the 2023 award
March 11, 2022 11:54am
Updated: March 11, 2022 1:32pm
The Ballon d'Or award for the world's best soccer players of both genders will now be awarded based on player performance for the regular European season instead of each calendar year, France Football magazine, the creator of the award since 1956, announced on Friday.
Among the changes announced is the reduction in the number of voters to optimize the process. According to the organization, it will be less of a global election but much more demanding with only journalists from countries in the top 100 of the FIFA ranking voting.
With this new measure, the organization wants to avoid the vote of countries with less soccer culture that used to choose based on the fame or career of a player to the detriment of the merits of the season being awarded.
The magazine also clarified the award’s voting criteria. It will be based first on individual performance, the performance of clubs, national teams, and fair play.
Less global but… much more demanding
— Ballon d'Or #ballondor (@francefootball) March 11, 2022
The process of selection for the #ballondor jury members is changing ⤵️
◾️ Ballon d’Or Jury > journalists from country part of the FIFA top 100 ranking
◾️ Women’s Ballon d’Or Jury > journalists from country part of the FIFA top 50 ranking pic.twitter.com/G2lFc35GhL
"It will no longer be from January to December," the magazine said via Twitter. Instead, the Ballon d'Or "will now be awarded based on a classic soccer season: from August to July." However, the organization clarified that the Qatar World Cup will be taken into account for the 2023 awards.
The adjustment means that the next Ballon d'Or will cover the 2021-22 season, ending with the Women's European Championship in July. The next awards ceremony will be held in October. The World Cup in Qatar, scheduled for November 21 to December 18, will not be considered until the following season.
France Football magazine has awarded the annual prize for the men's branch since 1956 and for women every year since 2018, although both awards were canceled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Argentinian soccer star Lionel Messi, of Paris Saint-Germain, holds the record with his seventh Ballon d'Or, and midfielder Alexia Putellas, of Barcelona and the Spain national team, won the award in the women's category for 202 for the third time. In a controversial decision, Messi edged out Bayern Munich and Poland striker Robert Lewandowski.
