Both L’Equipe and France Football, the event organizers, have just confirmed a few moments ago. The Ballon d’Or ceremony will take place on September 22nd.
The ceremony, which will once again take place at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, will feature a major innovation. That is, all existing trophies for men will also be awarded to women.
France Football has announced that the nominees for the Ballon d’Or, as well as the different awards that are distributed, will be known in the first half of August, on a date yet to be determined.
Similarly, the publication indicates that the voting system will be the same as other seasons. That is, there will be 100 journalists voting for the men’s Golden Ball and 50 for the women’s. Each country of the top 100 in the FIFA ranking (top 50 in the case of women) will have a journalist representative voting for the winner of the most prestigious individual trophy in world football. Each journalist must choose a top 10, and each position awards points to the nominated player. The player with the most points receives the Ballon d’Or.
Meanwhile, France Football has announced a modification in the election criteria. Three hierarchical criteria will be taken into account. Firstly, individual performances and the decisive and impressive character of the player. Secondly, the collective aspect and trophies won. Lastly, class and fair play. However, the criterion related to a player’s entire career has been removed from the voting procedures for this year’s competition.
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